Circle Game
by justaminuet
Summary: (chapter 4 up) New dangers arise, and a new fight begins. The times, they are a'changin'...
1. Prologue: Hi, My Name Is...

circlegame.html _Disclaimer:_ I do not own _Digimon_, and am making no profit from this story. All original characters are owned by me. 

Author's Notes: This is just a short prologue/teaser for a future story, _Circle Game_. Do not consider it your usual, run of the mill, kids-of-the-Digidestined story. This is gonna be... twisted. Like I know any other way. 

I'm sticking completely with original names and attacks. So, Davis = Daisuke, while Veemon = V-mon. Oh, by the bye, Daisuke is pronounced, "Die-skay," not "Die-soo-kay" as I keep on hearing. Sorry, I'm anal about that. _*sheepish grin*_

You'll also notice only one character has a first name that isn't Japanese. It's on purpose, and you'll find out why fairly quick. I don't even know if you'll figure out which one doesn't have a Japanese name. And all the names mean something significant for the character, so, if you really want to brainstorm about everyone, try finding out what each name means. ;) 

***   
Circle Game   
*** 

**Prologue: Hi, My Name Is...**

It is said that in every life a little rain must fall. Sometimes, the rain is light, barely causing the person it touches to shiver. But more times than not, when it rains, it pours. 

And when you are a Chosen Child, it hits like a typhoon. 

We used to be normal. Emphasis on the _used to be_ part. Well, I guess you could say that none of us were ever the typical "normal" that supposedly exists. Except for me, anyway. Kinda, sorta. Suffice to say, we were as normal as kids our age got. 

We all knew each other... kinda. Through either just growing up or being related. Or just through our parents, who we found out weren't quite normal themselves. But we'll get into that later. 

You still with me? Good. Oh, I suppose I should tell you who I am, shouldn't I? Sorry about that. Heh. I want to be a writer, but I guess I have a lot to learn, huh? Like, you know, why I shouldn't be putting "but" and "and" in the beginning of sentences. Um, I'm rambling now. That's bad. Sorry again. 

My name's Tenshi. Tenshi Takaishi. But that's really not important, actually. You see, I'm not going to be telling this story. I just decided to give it an introduction. Every good story has an prologue, right? Well, here's this story's. 

This whole crazy mess began because of Leala, you should know. Leala, and her dumb need to be tougher than nails, yet feminine at the same time. Leala, for the record, is nuts. 

Oh, and that's Leala Motomiya, if you were wondering. 

As I was saying, Leala started this. Her, those damned goggles her dad gave her, and that crazy thing that popped out of Yukio's laptop. You're probably wondering who Yukio is now. Don't worry, you'll find out about him soon enough. 

Really, we're probably the most unlikely team. Bunch of ragtags, that's us. I didn't notice what our link was in the beginning. And we are linked, and it's not by just seeing digimon, but by wants. Wants so strong, and so sincere that they shine as brilliantly as stars, and called our elements to us. 

Our wants. You should know them. It'll help you understand us. Or at least, be prepared. 

_Leala Motomiya,_ she wants to be considered pretty, while still managing to clean everyone's clock on the soccer field. 

_Kiseki Ichijouji,_ she just wants to be normal. 

_Yukio Izumi,_ he wants to get out from under his father's shadow. 

_Kiyoshi Ishida,_ she wants to be heard.__

_Hiro Yagami,_ he wants to believe in himself as much as he says he does. 

_Seiko Natsuko,_ he wants a family. 

_Nori Watase,_ he wants whatever she wants. 

_Nariko Watase,_ she wants whatever he wants. 

And what do I, _Tenshi Takaishi,_ want? I want a lot of things. I want to be a writer, I want to live up to my parents' great expectations. 

But most of all, I want to protect those I care for. 

And, uh, I really wouldn't mind living through this ordeal, if it's at all possible. 


	2. Chapter 1: Turning Points

Turning Points _Disclaimer:_ I do not own _Digimon_, and am making no profit from this story. All original characters are owned by me. 

Author's Notes: First part of what looks to be like another long series by yours truly. So sorry. ;) There are a few things you should know. 1) Some couplings in this are downright... weird. And just because I wrote them, doesn't mean I support them. It just means I was in the mood for something different. 2) Original Japanese is everywhere. That goes for names (Davis, meet Daisuke), evolving (that's "shinka" to you), Crests (Reliability? nah. try Faith) and levels. Why? Because I like them more. And, I'm the author. ;) 3) This is so AU it's not even funny. So, the only thing you should be aware of is that I did use the jobs that everyone had in episode 50. 

Also, 4) since Glay demanded it, here are the new Chosen Children's first names, and their meanings. 

Tenshi - Angel   
Leala - Loyal   
Kiseki - Miracles   
Hiro - One   
Yukio - He Who Gets What He Wants   
Kiyoshi - Quiet Child   
Seiko - Truth   
Nariko - Thunder   
Nori - Belief 

And Leala is the only one without a Japanese name. "Leala" is French. And you shall quickly find out why. I hope you enjoy. And remember, mature reviews are what feed me. Feed me!!! 

********   
**Circle Game**   
*******

**Chapter 1: Turning Points**

One baby, screaming loudly. So loudly, it would hurt any normal person's ears. But not hers. After all, she was the mother. It was the greatest sound in the world to her. 

Then, where there was one, there were now two babies. Except the second one wasn't crying like the first. This was not good. 

"What's wrong with her?" 

The doctors ignored her question. They were shouting at each other, barking things that made her heart stop, then rush, just to stop again. Why was the baby not crying? Why did she look blue? They were taking her baby away! 

"Stop! Where are you taking my baby? My baby!" 

A nurse gave her the first one to hold. A tiny boy, with a little tuff a purple hair, already showing he'd inherited something from her. She took a breath. Don't scream in front of the baby. That wouldn't be right. So, no screaming at the doctors. Best to send the husband to do it for her, then. 

"Ken?" 

"On it." 

He was already halfway to the door when she said his name. She waited for him to come back, huddling with her new baby boy in her arms. 

The husband nearly ran down the hall after one of the doctors that had been in the room. The baby wasn't with the doctor. So- 

"Where is she?" he demanded, gripping the doctor's shoulder, and forcing him around. 

The doctor blinked. "Mr. Ichijouji-" 

"Where?" he repeated, this time at the shouting level. 

"Calm down, sir, please," the doctor hushed, desperately. "Your baby's been brought to another room in Pediactricts. She's being looked after the best doctor we have by now, and-" 

"Why? What's wrong with her?" he parroted his wife's initial question. Anger. He didn't like feeling it, but this was his child, dammit, and he wanted answers! "Tell me!" 

The doctor sighed. "She wasn't breathing," he said, matter-of-factly. 

He blinked, the statement not completely taking on its full weight. "What?" 

"Stillborn." The word dropped like a dead man on a noose. "She was stillborn, Mr. Ichijouji. It looks like she's been dead for a few weeks in the womb." 

More blinking. Denial. Not possible... "Th-that can't be true. Miyako felt two babies kicking her just yesterday. They were both alive yesterday!" 

"That's doubtful, I'm afraid," the doctor replied, sympathetically. "She was probably mistaken." 

"She was not, damn you! What did you do to my daughter?" Denial. So much it twisted around his brain and squeezed until Ken thought he would explode. And rage blinded his actions. His baby could not be dead. Hands flew up, and grabbed the doctor's jacket. "Show me where she is!" 

"Mr. Ichijouji, please calm-" 

"Where is she?!" 

Now the doctor was losing patience. "Let go!" 

He momentarily thought of causing physical harm to the doctor. One swift punch, at least. That wouldn't accomplish much, though. 

"Doctor Katsura!" A small nurse, with mousy brown hair came running around the corner, arms waving frantically. "You won't believe this. You just won't." 

The doctor pulled away from him to turn to the nurse. "What happened?" 

"The baby... " the nurse gasped, trying to catch her breath. "That dead baby just woke up!" 

What was that? Ken's ears perked, and his heart began pounding. 

The doctor seemed more than doubtful. "How? Who did what?" 

"That's just it," the nurse waved her arms some more, as if that would help her with the story. "No one did anything! We thought she was dead. I was about to record the time of death for Dr. Adachi, and that dead little baby started crying as if there was no tomorrow. She just... woke up!" 

The doctor's face twitched. "Let me see." 

Ken glared at the two in disbelief. The doctor wanted to see the baby, and he couldn't? No, that would not do. "Let me see my baby." 

"Mr. Ichijouji, go back to your wife," the doctor ordered, sternly. "Now." 

He fumed. How dare they treat all this so nonchalantly! 

"Listen, Mr. Ichijouji," the doctor sighed. "You're not going to do your child any good by hovering over us while we're looking at her. Trust me. We'll bring her to you as soon as we can." 

Ken gave a slight snort of disbelief, but took a step back. It really wouldn't do anyone any good if he was in their way. But still, it troubled him to the core. The baby was alive yesterday, he was sure of it. Then, apparently dead upon birth, and now alive and crying. It just didn't make any sense. 

"Shall we go?" the doctor asked to the nurse. 

"Oh, no," she waved her hand. "After that, I need some air. I'm going to step out for a moment." 

He watched the nurse and the doctor walk away in opposites directions, as he stood where he was for a moment, trying to regain his senses. After shaking his had a moment, Ken slowly made his was back to the room that held his wife and newborn son. 

The woman looked up at him with worried eyes. "Well?" 

"It was nothing," he shook his head, deciding against upsetting her when there was no reason. "She's fine. They're just giving her a look over, that's all." 

"Ken... " 

The tone in her voice made his throat constrict. He knew that tone. Reluctantly, he looked over to her. "Miyako." 

"She's all right," she said, slowly, as if not believing her own words. "Right?" 

He nodded. "Right." 

"Good," Miyako gulped, cuddling her son closer to her, who murmured in response to the movement. "Good, good." 

"She's fine," he repeated, almost to himself, as he sat down next to her to look at the baby that lay in her arms. 

The small creature looked back, but not really. Blue eyes blinked repeatedly on a chubby face, purple hair plastered on the skull. The baby cooed for a second, closing its tired eyes with a sigh. 

Ken smiled. At least his son would get some sleep tonight. His _son._ He doubted the novelty of _that_ would ever wear off. 

Then, the tiny moment of peace ended, when a piercing wail of a newborn filled the hallways of the hospital, causing the sleeping baby in her arms to wake up and add to the noise. 

Miyako held her child closer, whispering for him to quiet down, as she watched the door, expectantly. Maybe that was their daughter they were hearing. 

Instead, they saw nurses fly past the room, shouting out for doctors to come. 

"You won't believe what happened!" 

"This would only happen on Seiko's break, of course. None of us would ever find _babies!_" 

"Doctor! Doctor Adachi, come quick!" 

"It's the strangest thing!" 

One of them, the one that had interrupted Ken's talk with the doctor, rushed past with a bundle of blankets in her arms. A bundle that was crying loudly. 

"He was just outside on the steps!" they heard her shout. "He would've frozen to death out there if I hadn't decided to take my break when I did!" 

Ken flinched. "Someone abandoned their baby?" 

"Oh, that poor thing," Miyako frowned, sadly. "Who could do that to their own child?" 

He looked down at his son, who was finally beginning to relax again, and something tugged at his heart. "I can't imagine." 

They set there in silence for what seemed an eternity, neither one of them wanting to take the chance of waking the now resting child in Miyako's arms. Staying like they were, it seemed so perfectly comfortable. Like this baby had been waiting for them all their lives to get him. _'Yes, I belong here,'_ seemed to emanate from his tiny form. _'You should've found me sooner, you know?'_

There was something missing though. A piece of a the puzzle that was needed to make out the image clearly. Except, the piece didn't seem to be forthcoming any time soon. Miyako had fallen asleep along with their son by the time the nurse walked in with a small little thing in her arms. A very important thing. The nurse smiled at Ken, and he recognized her once more. 

"I just had to hand her to you myself," she whispered. "It's funny. I'd never seen a baby just... get up like that! I left the building because of her, you know," she said, conspiratorially. "I'm afraid she shook me up a bit.   
"Funny thing is, if I hadn't walked out when I did, I wouldn't have seen that... " her voice trailed, as she finally caught herself. "Oh, sorry! That's not your problem, anyway. And, besides, I'm sure you'd much rather see _her,_" she grinned, allowing Ken to take the small child from her arms. 

He held the child to his chest protectively, possessively. Finally, _finally._ Her tiny face was calm, peaceful now, awake but not about to cry out. Gray eyes stared up, and Ken had a strange feeling they wouldn't stay that color for long. Indigo locks just barely graced her pale head, and she made a soft little squeak that brought a smile to his face. 

"Don't you ever scare me like that again," he demanded in a whisper. 

The nurse allowed herself a small smile, then said, "Well, I'll leave you for a while. This night, you know," she said, shaking her head as she walked out, "this night is one of miracles." 

"Miracles... " Ken repeated in a murmured, adjusting his hold on his daughter. "Yes. Miracles... " 

*** 

"Osamu-chan!" The little girl with her indigo hair held back with berets smacked at her twin's arm. "Leggo! You're running too fast." 

"You're running too slow!" retorted the boy, spiky, purple locks swaying as he shook his head. 

"Mama," the girl huffed, turning golden eyes to her mother. "Make him leggo!" 

"Osamu," Miyako said, not even looking away from her conversation with Mimi, "let go of Kiseki. If she doesn't want to play, then she doesn't have to." 

"Aw... Nuts!" The seven year old promptly released his sister, crossing his arms with a pout. 

Kiseki, for her part, promptly fell without proper footing. "Jerk." 

"Slow-poke." 

"Four eyes!" 

Osamu gasped, self-consciously reaching up to grip his wire frame glasses. "Goober!" 

"Geek!" 

"Dumbie!" 

"Nerd!" 

"Enough!" Miyako shouted, still not looking. 

"Aw... " whined both twins. "Nuts!" 

Mimi giggled at the pouting pair on the lawn. "You've got them trained well." 

"Well, you know Ken would just let them walk over him," Miyako pointed out. "Wormmon, too. If anything, he's worse. Hawkmon and I seem to be the only ones who can control them. Well, except for Osamu, who has recently decided that Hawkmon would be a great Show and Tell project for school." 

Mimi covered up her loud chortle with a delicate hand. "And what did Hawkmon say to that?" 

"Nothing," Miyako said, taking a sip of her tea. "He's been in hiding ever since." 

Mimi gave up to her giggles. "So," she grinned, "where is Ken, anyway?" 

"At a raid, if I recall correctly," Miyako answered, her grip on her teacup tightening a bit. "But he's with Wormmon, so I'm sure he'll be fine." She placed her cup back down on its saucer with a slightly loud clatter. 

"Worried?" Mimi inquired. 

"No," Miyako denied. "No, of course, not. I never worry when Ken puts his butt on the line, especially now that we have two children. And especially now that he seems to be doing it every week. Of course, not." She clenched her hands. "Of course, if he even gets _bruised_ I'm going to handcuff him to the bed. And this time he won't find it so enjoyable," she added under her breath. 

Mimi blinked. 

The twins started another shouting match at this time, this particular one about who was taller, which was indistinguishable at their age. Osamu, however, was easily winning by sheer vocal power. Mimi winced at the noise level the two managed. 

"I swear, Kiseki isn't usually this bad," Miyako promised. "She's normally very polite and quiet. It just seems that her brother brings out the worst in her." 

"Kiseki-chan! Stop braiding my hair!" 

"But it's so pretty, Osamu-chan!" 

"Kiseki... " Miyako called, off-handedly. 

"Aw, nuts!" 

If the front lawn of the house was now a small circus because of the Ichijouji twins, the backyard was Ringling Bros. Including a Ringmaster by the name of Hiro Yagami. With a digital video camera his Aunt Hikari had bought him, the little eight year old entertained himself by recording everyone, while climbing lawn furniture to get a better vantage point. 

"Hiro," Taichi said to his son, a soccer ball in hand. "Would you like to play?" 

"Nuh, uh," was Hiro's reply, per usual. 

Taichi sighed. "Not even a little bit?" 

"No thanks, Dad," said Hiro, who found sudden interest in a four year old little girl who was sitting quietly in Yamato's lap. "Hey, Kiyoshi! Wave, Kiyoshi!" 

The little girl blinked blue eyes, looking up at her father, questioningly. 

"S'okay," Yamato grinned. "It's just your crazy cousin. Wave for him." 

The small girl looked at the active boy with the camera, and tentatively waved. 

"Why don't you want to play soccer?" Taichi asked Hiro, a whine now tinting his voice. 

"Because I need to practice," Hiro proclaimed. "I want to work on television, like Mom. Except behind the camera. A director, like Uncle Udo! He just sits there, and tells Mom what to do. I like everything about it. It's cool! Except the girl part," he added. 

Taichi frowned, confused. "'Girl part?'" 

"Yeah," his son nodded, now focusing his camera a little ways off on a new threesome that was entering the backyard. "Uncle Udo says that if you become a really good director, girls want to sleep over your house." Hiro made a face. "But girls have cooties!" 

Taichi paled about four shades. With a forced laugh, he roughly patted his son on his cinnamon brown head. "Eh, heh. You just stay here. I'm going to speak with Mom about... _'Uncle Udo'._" Turning, Taichi began to slowly walk away, until he made a quick break for the front of the house. "Mimi!" 

"Well, it could have been conceivably worse," Koushiro commented about the scene. "I think." 

"Uh, huh," snorted Yamato, who grinned at his little girl climbing out of his lap to walk clumsily over to a small redheaded boy hunched over a blue, pineapple computer. 

Without a sound, she sat next to him, watching him type in fascination. The sound of clicking keys was all that was heard for a few solid minutes, until the boy looked up, raising a brow. 

"What?" he asked. 

Kiyoshi looked back at him, and smiled. 

"Eh?" His brow went higher. "What?" 

She continued to smile, this time holding up her hands, and moving them in a choreographed way, which only furthered his confusion. 

"She's mute, Yukio," Koushiro informed his son. "She's talking to you with sign language." 

"Oh," the boy nodded, still unsure. "What's she saying?" 

"'Nice to meet you,'" Sora replied, walking out of the house. Kiyoshi turned at her voice, and raised her hands towards her, eagerly. With a grin, Sora went over to scoop her daughter up. "You having fun, hm?" 

Kiyoshi nodded, giving her mother as big a hug as she could at her age. 

"Hey, everyone!" a jovial voice called, making the small group turn to see. Tanned hand waving, Daisuke offered a warm smile to his old friends. Beside him, a slender blonde waved, as well. "We saw Taichi, Mimi, and Miyako with her kids up front. They said the rest of you were back here." 

"Hello, Mr. Motomi- AH!" Hiro stumbled back, as big violet eyes filled the view of the camera. 

Falling on his back, the boy wincingly looked up to spot a small girl with cherry brown ringlets tied tightly in pigtails, smiling brightly at him. 

"Hello, Hiro!" she declared. 

"Hello, Leala," the boy choked, trying to catch his breath. 

"We were afraid you wouldn't make it," Yamato said to Daisuke, as he and his wife walked over. "I know the restaurants have been keeping you pretty busy. Iori's not here because of some trial he's working on. Jyou couldn't even get out of his schedule, and he seems to do less work than you!" 

"Jyou? No, way," Daisuke laughed. "He does much more than we do." 

"V-mon and Floramon are watching everything back home," Catherine said carefully, her French accent still clearly showing through after all the years. "Though, I'm not quite sure that's a good idea." 

"Oh, they'll be okay," Daisuke shrugged. "V-mon can handle anything." 

"I fear for your financial future, Daisuke," Koushiro said. "I really do." 

Daisuke snorted. "Pessimists, all of you. Hey," he perked, "where's Takeru? And Hikari? This is their house, after all." 

"Inside," Sora replied, sitting down next to Yamato, Kiyoshi still in her arms. "They're having a bit of an argument." 

"Argument?" Daisuke repeated, as if it was a foreign word. "Takeru and Hikari? Is that... possible?" 

"Apparently so when it comes to... " Koushiro pointed to a blonde boy sitting under a tree. 

Daisuke blinked. "Oh." 

As if on cue, Hikari suddenly stormed out of the house. "He's so... !" she muttered, clenching her fists with anger. Then, noticing she had an audience, she blushed and sighed. "Sorry. Oh, Daisuke! Catherine," she smiled, warmly. "I'm glad you could make it. Especially after Noriko called to say she and Iori couldn't come. I've been dying to meet Leala! Taichi and Mimi have said such nice things about her. We should've had this reunion years ago." 

Daisuke stared at her for a moment, not sure how to handle the idea that Hikari could ever get mad. Fortunately, his wife picked up the slack without missing a beat. 

"Of course," Catherine nodded with a grin. "Leala! Bonbon, viennent ici!" 

Leala, who had been animatedly talking to Hiro, switched gears in a millisecond, running up to her mother, beaming. "Yes, Mama?" she asked, pronouncing 'Mama' with the emphasis on the last syllable, like her mother had taught her. 

"Say hello to Mrs. Takaishi," said Catherine. 

The girl grinned up at Hikari, and waved, energetically. "Hello, Mrs. Takaishi!" 

Despite herself, Hikari giggled. "Hello, Leala." 

"I've never been here before," the little girl stated the obvious with enthusiasm. "It's really pretty." 

"Thank you," Hikari grinned, instantly charmed by the energetic child. 

"You have all these pretty flowers." Leala pointed out a few, sounding off names. "Mama has some in our gardens. Papa used to help plant them, but he kept on killing them, so Mama won't let him anymore." 

"Okay! That's enough now." Embarrassed, Daisuke picked the rambling girl up, placing her in her laughing mother's arms. "Oh, sure laugh all you want," he muttered to Catherine. "Which one of us still can't iron a shirt without burning a hole through it?" 

Catherine's laughter stopped immediately. She gave her husband a feigned look of disgust, to which he grinned at. 

"Hey, Hikari," Daisuke turned to the brunette, who was doing her best to cover her giggling. "Is it okay if I go inside? I haven't talked to Takeru in a while." 

"Well, sure," Hikari said, shrugging slightly. "If he's up for talking." 

Daisuke winced at the unusually cold tone in her voice. Obviously, the subject of their son was not taken lightly between the two of them. " ...Thanks." 

With a curt wave, Daisuke hustled himself into the house. He looked around the dining room he had walked into, and whistled, appreciatively. Takeru's writing must be more successful than he let on for them to afford a house like this, instead of an apartment, per usual around Japan. Then again, he owned a house himself, but only on the insistence of Catherine, who wasn't used to being cramped into an apartment. 

After eyeballing the intricate chandelier that hung above the dining table, Daisuke made his way to the doorway, only to almost collide into the very person he had come in to see. 

"Takeru!" he exclaimed, patting his friend on the shoulder, good-naturedly. "You look good. ...Except for the hair," he added, grinning. "Now I know why you wore that dopey hat." 

Takeru blinked, trying to orient himself. "Daisuke?" He stared at his old friend, noting differences in his appearance, but also recognizing the wicked smirk he had as a child. "Daisuke... I didn't recognize you without the goggles." He raised a brow. "Now I know why you wore them." 

Daisuke snorted. "Wearing goggles around the noodle shops is highly unsanitary. I have to look out for the best interests of my customers, you know. They expect nothing but good, clean food from me and my staff. It wouldn't look professional if the boss went around in goggles." 

The blonde gave him a blank look, before stating, "Catherine didn't like them, did she?" 

"She thought I looked better without them," Daisuke admitted with a blush. 

"Heh. You and Catherine... " Takeru's voice trailed, as he walked into the room, stopping midway so he could see out the window without being seen from the outside. He spotted the French Chosen, who was telling something to her daughter in rapid-fire French. "I have to say, that was probably the most unexpected thing I'd ever witnessed." 

"Hey, you were the one who offered us that summer in Paris those years back," Daisuke pointed out, standing next to him. "Have I ever thanked you for that?" 

"A few dozen times," Takeru assured him with a smile. "At least." 

Daisuke looked at the window, eyes locked on a pretty, pale face framed by blonde ringlets. The woman laughed at something Koushiro said, and the corner of his lips twitched upward. "Make that a few dozen and one times." 

Takeru's smile widened. "Deal." 

"Can I ask," Daisuke began, as gently as possible, "what's up with you and Hikari? Sora said you two were fighting. Which, to be honest, I couldn't picture until Hikari walked out actually looking mad. Which I couldn't picture before that, either." 

"Ah, that," Takeru sighed, nearly falling into a dining room chair. "It's complicated." 

"Hey, got all day," Daisuke waved his arms. "Give me a try." 

Takeru raised a brow, but conceded. "It's Tenshi." 

"Eh?" Daisuke tilted his head. "Your boy? Yeah, I figured." 

"Hikari thinks he's too shy, too antisocial," Takeru explained. "She wants to get him in a few sports programs. You know, put him into more social situations." 

"What's wrong with that?" Daisuke asked. "Doesn't seem bad to me." 

"You don't understand. Tenshi doesn't want that," Takeru said, shaking his head. "He'll lose it. Right now, Tenshi is just comfortable with himself. He doesn't like to socialize much. I don't know why, but he's just very shy.   
"But forcing him into a social situation is just going to make him worse, I know it," he argued. "He needs to do it on his own. And he will, I know he will. Hikari just needs patience with him, that's all." 

"So, she's mad at you because you don't want the kid to play soccer?" Daisuke concluded, overly simplistic. 

Takeru groaned, but nodded. "Something like that, yeah." 

"Well, I'd have to agree with both of you," Daisuke said, shrugging. "It probably wouldn't hurt him to join something. But, maybe only one sport. Or not even a sport. Maybe a club of some kind. Something that he's interested in." He looked up. "What's he interested in?" 

"Writing," Takeru mumbled. 

"Huh? What? Did you clone yourself?" Daisuke questioned. "That would explain the eerie resemblance... " 

"I did not!" Takeru frowned, knowing full well his friend was joking. "He writes. It's what he does in his free time. He... writes an awful lot, actually." 

"I can imagine," Daisuke muttered, earning himself a glare. "Why don't you two just compromise?" 

"I don't know," Takeru admitted, getting up. "We normally do, but when it comes to Tenshi we're both pretty stubborn." Deciding to change the subject, Takeru offered a small smile, and pointed outside to the small girl with curly hair the same color as Daisuke's. "Leala's growing up well." 

"She's growing up," Daisuke agreed. "She's just not growing in ways we expected." 

"Huh?" Takeru blinked. 

"Leala's... Well, she... " Daisuke pondered over the best way to describe the situation. Sighing, he looked his friend in the eye. "You know how Child digimon can be a lot stronger than they look?" 

"Yeah, sure," Takeru nodded, remembering how easily V-mon could defeat his partner in an arm wrestling match. 

"Well, that's Leala," Daisuke concluded. "She's strong. Really, really strong." 

"She can take on the boys," Takeru smiled. 

"No, no," Daisuke shook his head. "I think you misunderstood me. She can take on the _men._" 

"What?" Takeru uttered, blue eyes widening. "You're joking, right?" 

"Nope," Daisuke said, looking out the window at his daughter. "Around four years old, she just started showing these bursts of strength. First, it was just having wrestling matches with V-mon. I thought he was just being easy on her. Until the day she picked him up over her head so she could see what was behind him." 

Takeru choked. "No way. That's not possible." 

"Five years old," Daisuke continued, "a girl in her kindergarten class toppled over one of the book shelves trying to climb it. Landed on the girl's legs, and the teacher couldn't even budge it. She was about to call the janitors in, when Leala just walked over, and lifted the thing up like it weighed less than a piece of paper. Freaked her teacher out, I can tell you that much." 

Slowly, Takeru nodded. "I... can imagine." Hesitantly, he asked, "Do you think this has something to do with what happened to her?" 

"I don't know," Daisuke said. "Maybe. I don't care. She doesn't even remember it." 

"How?" Takeru questioned. "She was missing for a week, Daisuke. And then she just reappeared in her bedroom, not remembering a single thing. Doesn't that make you the least bit suspicious?" 

"No," said Daisuke, shortly. "That makes me very grateful. My daughter's back, and she's healthy and happy. I don't give a damn if she never remembers, as long as she's safe and happy. That's all that matters to me." 

Takeru sighed, but consented, "That's fair enough." 

Outside, Leala had sat down next to Yukio, asking question after question until the six year old boy nearly screamed. 

"Do you like to play soccer?" she asked. 

"No," he answered, black eyes never leaving his computer screen. 

"Basketball?" 

He offered her a withering glance. Basketball was a game that dealt with height, something that Yukio wasn't particularly gifted with. "No." 

"Hide and Seek?" she offered, hopefully. 

"No." 

"Tag?" 

"No." 

"Don't you do anything away from your computer?" Leala pouted. 

"Not if I can help it," he said, fingers tapping on the keys. 

"But there's so much to do!" she stated, stubbornly. "There's running, and playing, and soccer--I like soccer!--and swimming, and running-" 

"You've mentioned that," Yukio pointed out. 

"But it's so much fun!" Leala exclaimed. "You're never gonna do anything fun if you just sit there. And Mama says that if you stay in front of a computer for too long, you'll get a permama... uh, permamame... Um... " she bit her lip. 

"Permanent," he offered, dully. 

"Yes!" she nodded. "Permanent slouch, and your eyes will get all red, and you'll need glasses, and you'll be all pale, and-" 

The bouncing girl with the thick banana curls stopped in mid-squeal, violet eyes suddenly turning towards a small figure a little away in the backyard. A blonde boy sat underneath a tree, eyes focused intently on his shoe laces. He looked far more interesting than Yukio and his laptop. With more energy even a seven year old like her should have, Leala took off for the boy, her arms waving wildly. 

"Heya!" she cried, skidding to a halt in front of him. "Watcha doin'?" 

The blonde didn't answer at first, his fingers twisting strands of grass. Hesitantly, he lifted his blue eyes, and murmured, "N-nothing." 

"Well, that's silly!" Leala declared, placing her fists on her hips, her cherry brown curls jiggling. "Why are you just doin' nothin'?" 

"Don't know," he whispered, shrugging. His eyes went back to the ground. 

She bit her lip, suddenly frustrated with the quiet boy. An idea jumped into her head, and Leala grinned. "Hey, you wanna play tag?" 

"Um... " the boy frowned, fingers now dragging along the grass. 

"C'mon," she encouraged. "It'll be fun!" 

"I don't know," he muttered, still not looking up. 

"Aw, just a little bit can't hurt," Leala kicked in her patented whine. Then, she grinned and held her index finger up. "L'enfance est amusement!" 

That made him look up. "Huh?" 

"'Childhood is fun!' At least, that's what my Mama tells me," she clarified. With bright eyes and a wide smile, she held her hand out. "My name's Leala Motomiya! What's yours?" 

"Um... " Slowly, cautiously, he reached his hand out and took hers in a tentative shake. "Tenshi Takaishi." 

"Nice to meet ya, Tenshi-kun!" Leala declared, vigorously shaking his hand before letting go. "Wanna be friends?" 

Tenshi blinked. Did he want to be friends with the loud mouthed, energetic girl, who just seemed to _ooze_ with trouble? "Well, uh... " 

"Cool!" she beamed. "Okay, let's play tag. You're it!" She stated, placing her hand on his forehead, and before he could protest, pushing him lightly. With a giggle, she turn and ran. 

... And Tenshi fell over. He laid there, not really sure why he was on his back. He just looked at the sky, with its blue and white pattern. Had she really pushed him that hard? She barely looked like she was half his height. No way. But still... She was awfully strong! He felt it in her hand shake. He thought she was going to break his fingers, she gripped him so tightly. 

Suddenly, the blue sky was covered by cherry brown curls held in pigtails, and bright, violet eyes. 

"You okay, Tenshi-kun?" Leala asked, the abrasiveness in her voice instantly gone. In its place was nervousness. "I... I didn't hurt you, did I? I'm, uh, I'm a bit strong for my age. Th-that's what they say. Papa says it's just because I eat my vegetables. But, um... I guess I am kinda stronger than I should be. I forget sometimes, because kids... " She bit her lip, and whispered the rest, "Most kids are scared of me. I don't mean to hurt people. I just... I just make mistakes sometimes."   
"You're not scared of me, are you, Tenshi-kun?" she questioned, voice strained, pleading. "I didn't mean to hurt you. Honest! Are we... Are we still friends?" 

Tenshi didn't move from his position. His eyes remained focused upwards, looking but not really. Leala sniffled, all her confidence gone in an instant. Something about that sniffle clicked in Tenshi's mind. He had heard it before, or something similar to it. He had made that noise before. All the days and nights that he spent by himself, too afraid to socialize with the other children of the neighborhood. All the times he stayed alone in his house because he was too shy around his peers. And no one ever wanted to talk to the quiet one in the corner, did they? No, they never bothered, and that just made him keep to himself even more. 

Now, here was this strange little girl with a carrying voice and bouncy curls. She actually took the moment to talk to him. She wanted to be friends. _Wanted to be._ No one had ever wanted to be friends with him, no one had never asked. Except for this girl. 

" ...T-Tenshi-kun?" 

Slowly, Tenshi raised one hand, and stretched it out to Leala, as she watched, blinking curiously. His hand clenched into a loose fist, his index finger raised. With a jerk of his wrist, he tapped her knee cap. 

"Tag," he stated, dully. "You're it." 

Leala raised a brow, confused. "Eh?" 

A rare mischievous grin etched onto Tenshi's face, as the boy scrambled to his feet, and ran away, shouting louder than he ever had in his whole quiet existence, "You're it, Leala-chan!" 

"Wha... ?" Leala watched after him for a moment, letting his words sink in, until she finally stood there, smiling in disbelief. "You cheated, Tenshi-kun! Cheater, cheater! I'm gonna get you!" she declared, taking off at great speed across the Takaishi's backyard. 

Watching this from afar, Takeru grinned. "I've never heard Tenshi actually yell before. I was beginning to think he couldn't talk above a whisper." 

"Eh," Daisuke shrugged, proudly. "My Leala's gotta way to her. She's... What was it Cathy used... ? Une petite bonbon mignonne." 

Takeru frowned, confused. "Huh?" 

"She's a cute little candy," Daisuke explained, smiling. "That's my girl." 

*** 

The flames were rising higher now, burning their way up the apartment complex so quickly only the people on the bottom floor had a chance to escape. 

But she and her family weren't on the bottom floor. They were on the tenth. Coughing from the thick smoke filling her apartment, the six year old crawled around, trying to shout out for her loved ones. 

"Mommy! Daddy! Mommy! Where are you, Mommy?" 

The roar of the flames answered her, and she scurried to the back bedroom, flinching at the heat of fire surrounding her. The back room would soon be on fire as well, but at least it was safer than any other place. She closed the door behind her, shuttering from fright. 

"Nariko?" 

She turned at her name, eyes widening at the sight of something red glistening in the shadows of the room. Red eyes, that she herself shared. 

"Nori! Nori, what are you doing here?" she cried, stumbling over to the pale boy with the bleached hair. 

"I heard you screaming," he explained, pulling her close to him. "I just came in to find you." 

"Well, now we're both trapped," she sniffled. "You should've ran, Nori!" 

"I couldn't leave you behind," he argued. "Then I'd be all alone. Besides, I won't let anything hurt you," he promised, tightening his hold on her, as the door of the room began to burn away. "We're going to be just fine. I know we are." 

**Next Chapter: "Bellmon, Shinka Yo!"**


	3. Chapter 2: Bellmon, Shinka Yo!

"Bellmon, Shinka Yo!" _Disclaimer:_ I don't own Digimon. However, all the original characters in this story are my intellectual property. Spiffy, ain't it? 

_Author's Notes:_ You still with me? Good, because it's gonna get a lot hotter a lot quicker. And forgive my lack of total knowledge when it comes to Japanese schooling. Hey, I don't live there. ;) Therefore, I don't know if they have homeroom. Heck, I doubt their elementary schools do. But, for story purposes, they do now. Heh. _*grins sheepishly*_

*******   
**Circle Game**   
*******

**Chapter 2: "Bellmon, Shinka Yo!"**

Time is an all encompassing thing. It is the Great Leveler. In time, the weak can become strong, and the strong weak. In a single moment, a life can be either saved or lost. With a split second, a person can make the greatest mistake of their life, or the greatest decision they ever made. 

Time ages everyone. 

And now, time will prove who are the real heroes, and throw others to the wayside. Because, real heroism is proven with... time. 

Of course. 

*** 

"C'mon, Leala-chan," Tenshi muttered softly, hunched down on the bleachers, and watching the game in front of him intensely. "C'mon, c'mon... " 

_"Come on, Leala!"_ Daisuke shouted beside the boy, making the eleven year old jump. Oblivious of the startled Tenshi, Daisuke stood up in his seat, shouting even louder. "Go, Leala! Don't give them an inch of breathing room!" 

Next to his partner, V-mon cheered, as well, shaking his hands in the air enthusiastically. 

Rubbing his ringing ears, Tenshi looked over at Catherine, expecting her to show a little more restraint than her husband. 

"Move it, Bonbon!" hollered the French blonde. "Hit them if you have to!" 

The spectators around them turned shocked to Catherine, who blushed furiously, and stumbled out a nervous apology. In French. Needless to say, no one knew what she said. Floramon clicked her tongue, embarrassed. 

Groaning in embarrassment, Tenshi hustled himself a few inches away, a bit closer to his father, who patted his head sympathetically. 

"It's a Motomiya thing," Takeru said to his son, as if it explained everything. Which it did. 

"Oh, she's gonna score!" Hikari proclaimed, clapping excitedly. It seemed that while her brother had been the player of the family, every Yagami had a love of the game 

Out on the field, wearing the red and white of Odaiba proudly, Leala Motomiya streaked across the grass. She might not have been the quickest on her team, but the others had quickly and easily proclaimed her the strongest on offense. The girl knew how to move. It also helped that she _was_ a girl. After all, the boys on the other team had a tendency to underestimate her if they had never played against Odaiba before. A lone, short girl on an all boys team was the least of their concerns, usually. 

Which is why, at this point in the game, with five minutes left before the ending, Leala was normally enjoying herself immensely. And today was no exception. Her small stature gave her room to move sharply, passing and receiving the soccer ball without breaking stride. With a high pitched yelp that was more from an adrenaline rush than anything else, Leala nearly skidded to a halt a few feet in front of the goal. 

"Motomiya!" barked a teammate. "Nail it!" 

The soccer ball touched the side of her shoe, and all the excitement and shouting of the game ceased to exist for Leala. Not even needing to think, she shot the ball towards the net like a bullet, so hard that even with the goalie reaching up to grab it, it easily forced its way out of his grip and into the net. 

"Yee-ess!" Leala whooped, hand raised with a 'victory' sign. From the stands, the four other Motomiyas --parents and partners-- cheered proudly. 

With a grin, Leala turned to her family to wave, only to meet with a large body wearing the purple and white of Kyoto. With a grunt, she fell to the ground, clutching her stinging side. 

"Ya know," the Kyoto player smirked, "little girls shouldn't play with the big boys." 

Leala glared up, violet eyes darting back and forth. No referee jumping over to give the boy a foul. Fine by her. She stood up, brushing herself off as she took a glance at the boy's jersey. "Number fourteen," she stated his team number, giving him her best saccharin smile. "I'll remember that." 

"You do that," the boy muttered. 

"What a cheater," Tenshi murmured from his seat. "What a jerk." 

Atop Takeru's head, Patamon nodded in agreement. 

"Some people just don't know the meaning of fair play," Tailmon said with a frown. 

"Don't worry," Daisuke tried to brush it aside, though it was more than a little obvious that he wasn't happy. "Leala can handle herself." 

"As long as she keeps calm," Tenshi added, softly. 

Keeping calm was on Leala's Priority List. It just wasn't on the top. Number one on it was to win the game, which was already a given, seeing how they were up by four goals with only a minute left. Therefore, number two got bumped up. Number two being to add one more goal to their lead. And if that happened to include her being... _forced_ to defend herself against a certain Kyoto soccer player... Well, them's the breaks, as they say. 

So, Leala was doing her damnedest to get as close to the Kyoto goal, and keep herself open for a pass at the same time. Not the easiest of tasks, but she was managing with the help of her teammates. 

With twenty feet between her and the goal, Leala stopped. "Open!" she shouted, not particularly caring who heard. 

"If you insist!" Makoto, number ten on her team, said, sending the ball her way. 

A grin on her face, Leala took possession of the soccer ball, and turned to the goal just in time to see number fourteen of Kyoto move into a defensive stance a few feet in front of his team's goal. Leala's grin widened a little more. 

"Well, it's your death wish," she muttered. Then, she let out a short war cry that was disturbingly well known among her teammates, and kicked the ball with barely a quarter of her strength. 

The black and white patched ball shot forward like a train, arching up just slightly. The ball was barely a gray blur to any player on the field who tried to watch its trajectory. It's known that an object in motion will stay in motion... unless another object stops it. Case in point, number fourteen of Kyoto's head. 

The ball collided with the shocked boy's face, and he jolted a moment, then froze as the soccer ball dropped to the ground. He then followed suit, falling on his back from the momentum without even a whimper of pain. 

"Toldja," Leala shrugged, as the ending whistle blared. 

"Crap!" a Kyoto player glared at her from beside his unconscious teammate. "You knocked him out!" 

"Really?" she blinked. "Is that all? Sheesh, I must losing my touch." She smiled, brightly. "Last time, I broke the guy's nose!" 

A few Kyoto players twitched at her cheerful statement, while her teammates simply muttered agreement, and patted her on the back to encourage her to go back to the bench with them. With an enthusiastic wave good-bye to the opposition, Leala turned on her heals, and skipped back along with her team. 

"You're going to get in trouble if you keep doing that, Motomiya," Makoto mumbled. "Sooner or later, the refs are gonna realize you're knocking those guys out on purpose." 

"Well," she huffed, having to tilt her head up to see him from her short vantage point, "those guys are gonna have to realize that I don't take that sort of garbage!" 

"You're crazy," Makoto shook his head. "You really are." 

"You say 'crazy' like it's a bad thing," Leala grinned, taking off for the stands, waving at her parents and happily ignoring her coach's insistence of her staying. 

"Mama! Papa!" she called, arms flailing in the air just in case her parents couldn't hear her bellowing. She ran up to them as they got into the aisle. 

And quickly bypassed both her parents to hug who was arguably her favorite family member. 

"V-mon!" She wrapped her arms around the small, blue dragon, lifting him up and twirling a bit. "Didja see? I got that jerk good!" 

"Yeah, I shaw," the digimon slurred, with a sheepish grin. 

"Bonbon!" Catherine scolded, after her daughter put the dragon down. "You shouldn't hurt people on purpose!" 

"But, Mama," Leala defended, "you _told_ me to hit them if I had to." 

Catherine blushed. "You heard that?" 

"Everyone in the stands heard that," Daisuke murmured, making his wife turn an even deeper red. Grinning, he picked his tiny, eleven year old daughter up so that she was riding piggy-back style. "Wanna go home?" 

"Yup! Oh, wait!" Leala climbed clumsily off her father, and rushed over to her best friend, his parents and their digimon. "Tenshi-kun!" she exclaimed, giving him a quick hug. Public expression of affection aren't usually seen as proper in the Japanese culture, but with her mother's background, Leala was a bit more comfortable. "I'm so glad you came. You hardly go to any games. Did you have fun? Didja see how I _nailed_ that guy?" 

Tenshi chuckled at his friend's rapid talking. He was used to this. "Yeah, I had fun. Yeah, I saw what you did. Better watch yourself. You'll get caught." 

"Aw, all you guys are too cautious," she rolled her eyes, pushing her friend playfully. Her violet eyes twinkled, and she spun to her parents. "Tenshi-kun and I are going for ice cream!" 

"We are?" Tenshi asked, a brow raised. 

"Of course! C'mon!" She grabbed his wrist, and began to drag him off the stands, paying no attention to his pleading to slow down. "I'll be home in a few hours!" Leala called over her shoulder, then gave the blonde boy a tug. "Run faster, Tenshi-kun!" 

"I'm running as fast as I can!" Tenshi defended, but did his best to quicken his pace. Usually, with his being much taller than her, he could outrun his best friend. However, it was impossible to keep up with Leala when she was on a high like this. 

"Daisuke," Takeru smiled at the two receding figures, "does she ever stop moving?" 

"Hasn't stopped since she was born," Daisuke answered with a grin. 

*** 

Quiet, quiet. Don't make a noise. Softly, softly. Make sure no one hears. 

With her small, white socked feet padding along the wood floor, Kiyoshi Ishida walked across the room with anxiety growing in her eight year old stomach. Reaching her goal at the end of the room, she bit her lip in concentration. 

So close. Gently, gently. No sound. Just reach up, get it, then get out. Reach. Reach, you short little twit, reach! 

"What are doing, Kiyoshi?" 

The little girl with the golden-red hair froze, arms held guiltily in the air. With the most innocent look she could muster, she turned around. 

One brow raised, Yamato repeated his question. "What are you doing?" 

The girl's hands went up and began to move wildly, defensively. _'Nothing.'_

"Oh, really?" he smirked, amused. "Then why were you trying to get my old guitar?" 

Kiyoshi blinked, her brain freezing for a moment. _'I was just looking.'_

"Ah... I see," Yamato nodded, sagely. He motioned with his head, and walked out of the master bedroom, "Come on." 

Sighing, Kiyoshi dragged her feet along the floor like a condemned man. She followed her tall father along the hallway of their apartment, until they reached the storage closet. Yamato opened the noisy door, and the two Ishidas coughed from the dust that unsettled with the movement. Cardboard boxes and bags filled with old, rusty or dusty things littered the cramped space, and Kiyoshi watched curiously as Yamato began to rummage through the old junk. After a solid couple minutes of searching, he exclaimed victory, fishing out a small wooden box. 

"Here," he said, handing it to the girl. "I probably should've given it to you sooner." 

Anticipation ran through Kiyoshi, and she eagerly opened the box... to reveal a chipping, gold plated harmonica. She looked up at her father, unimpressed. 

"What's wrong?" Yamato asked, not used to such a sour expression. "You don't like it?" 

Kiyoshi closed the box, and placed it under her arm so she could 'talk.' _'It's a harmonica.'_

"I understand that," he grinned. "I've had that since I was a kid." 

_'It's a _harmonica!_'_ she repeated, scowling. _'Harmonica's are stupid!'_

"Hey, hey now!" Yamato held up his hands in defense. "They are not. Let me tell you something. Come here," he knelt down, and reached out to put his daughter in his lap. "When your mom and I first went to the Digital World we were... Well, your Uncle Takeru was your age. And do you know what I had with me?" he asked. 

Kiyoshi nodded. _'Gabumon.'_

"Eh, yes," Yamato relented. He took the box from her, and flipped it open with his thumb. "But I also had this. This harmonica went through almost all the Digital World with me." He took the instrument out of its box, running his fingers reverently across the embossed surface. "I used to play it whenever I was sad, or happy. Or just needed a way to express my feelings.   
"This harmonica was very important to me. It meant a lot. Still does. So, that's why I want you to have it," he handed the small instrument to his daughter. "Because you're important to me, too. I know your mom and I don't spend enough time with you because of our jobs. But it doesn't mean we don't care for you. We love you, you know?" 

Kiyoshi gazed up at her father's gentle face, and found herself smiling at him. He never was one to open up very often, so she always took what she could get with open arms. She nodded, doing her best to wrap her small arms around him for a hug. 

"That's my girl," Yamato murmured, ruffling her hair, affectionately. "Now, get ready for school. And don't forget," he reminded her, placing her back on her feet, "after school you have to meet with Tenshi, so he can walk you home." 

She nodded again, pocketing the harmonica. Yamato offered her another smile, as she shuffled past him. Meet with Tenshi... She could handle that. Her cousin was okay. Leala would be there, too, though. That was better. Kiyoshi had long ago decided that Leala equaled fun. Like piggy-back rides, and being thrown high in the air and caught before she hit the ground, regardless of how many times Tenshi would state it was dangerous. 

Kiyoshi patted the harmonica. She could show it to Tenshi and Leala. They'd think it was nice. Still, she sighed, she would've preferred the guitar. It's hard to play _"Satisfaction,"_ on a harmonica. 

*** 

"Tenshi-kun!" Leala called out upon seeing her best friend walk into the school, waving wildly at her locker. 

The blonde waved slightly, a modest smile on his face as he walked up to her, weaving through the throng of students. "Morning, Leala-chan," Tenshi said, opening his locker to retrieve some books. 

"So, what are we gonna do after school today?" she grinned. "It's Saturday, so we get out early. We'll have the whole day ahead of us!" 

"Don't you have a game today?" he asked, closing his bookbag. 

"Nuh, uh. Practice," she corrected him. With a smirk, she tapped the goggles that adorned her head, per usual when she was planning something devious. "But I can skip it. It's not like I need the practice." 

"You're not _that_ good, Leala-chan," Tenshi quipped, with a shake of his head. 

"I'm not that bad, either," she winked, tapping his nose. 

He laughed softly at her silliness. "Come on, or we'll be late for class. Again." 

"Pick, pick, pick," Leala rolled her violet eyes, and adjusted her goggles and then her backpack. "School should start later." 

"_You_ should start sooner," he retorted, giving her a small push. 

"Whatever," she pushed him back, nearly toppling him over. The only thing that saved Tenshi from hitting the tiled ground face first was Leala's quick hand gripping his shirt, and putting him back on his feet. "Sorry," she apologized, off handedly. They had gotten used to her accidental bursts of strength through the years. 

He shrugged, clearly not bothered by her abnormal ability. 

"Leala-chan!" 

There are few things in life that can scare Leala Motomiya. She prided herself on being fearless, on taking risks no one else would ever even dream to. She was going to grow up to be as graceful as her mother, but as brave as her father. At least, that was the plan. That's why she had "_The_ Goggles," as her father had referred to them as. 

There was, however, one thing in particular that made the near fearless Leala Motomiya's skin crawl, heart drop, legs shake, stomach turn, eyes water, and voice rise to an even higher pitch than it already was. 

That one thing came in the form of a tall, busty auburn haired girl with the dubious distinction of being Leala's cousin; Doroko Kido. Maybe it was because Doroko had inherited her mother's pretty hair and surprisingly gorgeous figure. Though, Leala's Aunt Jun swore that she hadn't "blossomed" until her late teens, while Doroko was just eleven. Maybe it was because every testosterone-toting boy in school hung on every word Doroko said, even if it was about her new nail polish. Maybe it was a lot of things, but whatever the reason was, Leala absolutely feared her cousin. 

However, she hid it well. Hiding it well for Leala, unfortunately, meant that she barely said anything. 

"Oh, Leala-chan, I'm so glad I caught up with you!" Doroko chirped from down the hall, her fashionable heals clicking along the floor. Once she reached the pair, she gave Leala a friendly pat on the head. "It's such a pretty day, don't you think?" 

"Uh, huh," Leala muttered, her enthusiasm crushed in an instant. "So pretty." 

Doroko giggled, brushing a shining auburn lock away from her face, balancing her stack of books in her free arm. "It's going to be a great day, I just know it! You want to know why?" 

"Not particularly," Leala whispered, glaring at Tenshi when he elbowed her. 

"I just found out that Hiro-san is going to direct the next school play!" Doroko brightly informed them, a dreamy look on her face. "_`Midsummer Night's Dream.'_ I'm going to try out for Titania!" 

"Why even bother?" Leala asked, finally giving the voluptuous girl a sidelong glance. "He'll give you a part if you just show up and wave to him." 

"You think?" Doroko squeaked. "I want to try out, though. Daddy says he'll help me research the role. I want to be perfect for Hiro-san." 

"Uh, huh," Leala uttered, already picturing her Uncle Shuu pulling out tombs of old Shakespeare literature, from plays to stage setups, all the while Doroko soaking it all up in that deceivingly sponge-like brain of hers. Dopey as she acted, she could memorize anything. Just one more thing that made Leala feel uneasy. 

"Hiro-san is so... " Doroko cooed, chocolate eyes fluttering. "Wonderful. Don't you think?" 

"Whatever. Oh, dang it!" Leala growled as the bottom of her bookbag ripped open, her books scattering onto the floor. "Oh, that's just great," she scowled. "I knew it would only get worse before it got better." 

With a sigh, Leala knelt and began to pick up her things, Tenshi quickly joining her. The rest of the student body carefully, and almost subtly stayed out of the way, passing them as if they didn't exist. Leala had gained a certain reputation at school that made her an object of fear or all out ridicule. Suffice to say, the only two people who were completely unfazed by her were Tenshi and Doroko. 

"I'll help!" Doroko cheerfully stated, kneeling. However, when she reached out to pick up some loose papers, the books she was holding precariously slipped out of her grasped, and clattered against the ground. "Oh, dear," she pouted. 

In an instant, five male classmen swarmed around the trio like bees to honey. 

"You need help, Doroko?" One asked, struggling to pick up one of the girl's blue notebooks. 

"Allow me!" Another jumped in, taking the notebook away from the first boy. 

"You poor thing," a blonde tsked, helping Doroko to her feet. "You shouldn't have to do grunt work." 

"But-" Doroko began. 

"We'll do it for you!" the five boys declared, having mild tussles with each other over the spilt objects. 

Watching it all, Leala's eye twitched. 

"S'okay, Leala-chan," Tenshi soothed her, patting her shoulder reassuringly. "They... probably didn't notice you dropped anything." 

"Yeah, right," Leala snapped, balling her fists. 

"Oh, you're so wonderful!" Doroko squealed, her hands clasped underneath her pretty chin. "Aren't they wonderful, Leala-chan?" 

"Fabulous," Leala replied, drily. 

"Here ya go!" One boy declared, as all five held out the now neatly piled books to Doroko. "We'll carry them for you if you'd like, Doroko." 

"That's so sweet!" Doroko giggled. Then, she tapped her chin, her lips pursed. "But, some of those aren't mine." 

"Huh?" The five boys blinked. 

"Some of them are Leala-chan's," the pretty girl explained, pointing with a smile at her short cousin, who stood there with her arms crossed. 

"Uh... " the blonde boy gulped, taking a noticeable step away from Leala. "Which books are yours, Doroko?" 

"Hmmm... " Doroko bit her lip, then started pulling out her things from the piles. "This one, and this one. Oh, this one! And this one with all the pretty stickers! There," she nodded. "That's it. The rest are Leala-chan's." 

The rest of the books immediately found their way back to the floor, as the five boys unceremoniously dropped them, backing away from Leala almost fearfully. 

"Oh, my," Doroko said, a delicate hand over her shocked mouth. 

Tenshi covered his eyes. 

"Hey!" Leala yelled. "What was that for?" 

"Hey, don't get mad," one boy said, backing away quicker than before, and holding his hands up in defense. "We just wanted to help a lady." 

"And I'm _not_ a lady?!" Leala growled, her fists shaking. 

"Not our fault you act more like a guy than a girl," said another boy, beginning to turn away. "I mean, admit it, Motomiya. You're just not feminine." 

"Yeah," The blond nodded. "What's up with those goggles, anyway? Your hair so ratty barrettes wouldn't work?" 

"My... goggles?" Leala's fingers twitched. "There's nothing wrong with my goggles. My father gave them to me!" 

"Well, that explains it," a boy snickered. He looked at her beaten jean shorts and red and white shirt. "Probably gave you those clothes, too. Man, were you ever born the wrong gender!" 

"Ugh," Tenshi uttered, grabbing onto his best friend, and picking her up off the floor just in time to stop her from causing the five boys bodily harm. 

"I am _too_ feminine!" Leala snarled, waving her fists in the air, and trying to get out of Tenshi's grip without hurting him. "Now, get back here so I can kick your butts and prove just how girlie I am!" 

The five boys showed a great deal of intelligence by not taking Leala up on her offer, and running down the hall to their respective classes. 

"Stupid jerks!" Leala yelled after them. "Je vous déteste des idiots!" 

"Ms. Motomiya!" 

Leala froze, cringing as Tenshi gently placed her back on her feet. Hesitantly, she turned around. "Yes, Mrs. Aino?" 

The thin, gaunt faced principal frowned from down the hall, smoothing a few flyaway strands of graying black hair from her dark eyes. With a sigh, she asked, "Must I give you detention for disruption? _Again?_" 

"Um... No?" Leala gambled, hopefully. 

It didn't pay off. "I expect to see you at our usual meeting place during lunch," said Mrs. Aino, firmly. "My office." 

"Yes, ma'am," Leala defeatedly groaned, head down. 

*** 

With quick, even strokes, the form of a gallant looking beast appeared on the paper in front of her. Biting her lip in concentration, she defined the horned helmet, surprisingly gentle eyes peering out, and spiked hair from the back. Broad shoulders, and a strong, humanoid body, but still retaining a reptile-like appearance. She didn't know exactly why she knew this creature was _retaining_ the reptile look; that his previous looks were far more reptilian. Only that he was. 

She finally finished his stance, on bended knee atop the edge of a cliff, gazing up at the setting sun. Or maybe it was the rising sun. No, no. She shook her head. It was definitely setting. In the upper right corner, she wrote, "WarGreymon." It was perfect. 

Truth be told, she had never seen a "WarGreymon" in her life. At least, not before her real, golden eyes. But in her mind's eye, she had seen him time and again, fighting the good fight in a world that only her parents and a few other fortunate chosen could venture into. 

Kiseki Ichijouji closed her sketchbook, as the art teacher informed them time was up. With mechanical movements born from years of monotony, she pulled out a small lock, and securely fastened her book closed. She had no desire of people going through it and quite possibly figuring out the truth. Her parents would catch on in a split second, even her brother would. It was best to keep things like this to herself. There was no reason for anyone else to know. 

Per usual, she was almost the last one to leave the room, being a bit of a neat freak, and putting everything around her exactly where it belonged. She never minded leaving the room late. It was her last class of the day. Osamu usually walked home with some of his friends. Her walks tended to be solitary. Every so often, she would wish she could bring... But no, that would be foolish. Her parents didn't know, and she wanted to keep it that way. 

Humming softly, Kiseki walked out into the hall, after wishing her teacher a good day. It was Saturday, so it was early dismissal. She was grateful for that. It meant she could spend more time with her friend. Her only real friend. The only one who understood why such an outgoing little girl could turn into such an introverted young lady. 

The halls of the school were bare as she walked down them towards her locker. It didn't really unnerve her. This was a normal habit of hers. However, the footsteps behind her did make Kiseki feel mildly uneasy. She chided herself on being paranoid, some of her mother's bad habits rubbing off on her. She clucked her tongue at her foolishness, and stopped in front of her locker. 

She was turning the combination when Matto saddled up next to her, almost making her squeal. 

"Hey, Kiseki," her classmate grinned. 

"Hello, Matto," she murmured, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves. 

"Whatcha doing?" he asked, casually, yet somehow making her edgy. 

"I'm just getting my books so I can leave," she answered, though she had stopped turning her lock, for fear that he would catch the combination. 

"Leaving?" Someone snatched her sketchbook out of her hands. "So soon?" 

"Hey!" Kiseki turned to her left, frowning as another classmate, Vansu, smiled briefly at her, then began to fiddle with the small lock on her book with his bony fingers. "What do you think you're doing?" 

"Ease up there, Kiseki," Matto said, strolling past her, and successfully blocking most of her view of Vansu. "We're just curious. You weren't drawing what the teacher was telling you today in class." 

"Huh?" She tried to look around him, to no avail. "I don't know what you're talking about." 

"Oh, come on," Matto rolled his eyes. "We were supposed to be drawing that dumb still life. But you weren't even looking at it. I saw you drawing some sort of dinosaur in that book of yours." 

"It's rude to look over people's shoulders," Kiseki informed him, her frown deepening slightly. 

"We wanna see, though!" Vansu said, yelping when he cut his finger on the metal lock. 

"Yeah," Matto nodded. "It's not that big of a deal, is it? Give us the key. We'll take a quick peak, and that'll be the end of it. Nice and clean, eh?" 

Kiseki sighed, closing her golden eyes for a moment, and silently counting to ten. Her father had taught her a few self defense moves not so long ago. Though, he had stressed the importance of using them _only_ when she had no other course of action. Her mother, however, would've probably pounded these two into the ground by now. 

"C'mon now," Matto smiled as genteelly as he could manage, the expression so foreign that it looked like it would crack his face in half. "I just want to see what you drew in art class today." 

"Yeah," Vansu nodded, struggling with the small lock on the book, biting on his tongue in concentration. 

"Please," Kiseki began, opening her eyes again, "give me back my sketchbook." 

"Oh, just a little look," Matto semi pleaded, obviously with no intention of handing her possession over. "Just give us the key." 

"Yeah, c'mon!" Vansu added, making an even bigger display of trying to open the lock. "I mean, what kind of person puts a lock on their sketchbook, anyway?!" 

"Exactly," Matto agreed, giving his friend an approving nod before looking back at Kiseki. "It can't be that big of a deal." 

"It's _my_ sketchbook," she insisted, refusing to get angry with them. No matter how much she wished a certain friend of hers was with her to _'Sound Wave'_ the two bullies across the hallway. Of course, that would alert the teachers, and all sorts of strange explanations would come of it. It was probably best that her... friend wasn't there. "May I please have it back?" She held out her hand, patiently waiting. 

Matto stared at her hand for a moment, a scowl of annoyance slowly forming on his face. With a sneer, he leaned forward so their noses were barely two inches apart. "Y'know," he muttered, "I'm beginning to think there's something in there that you don't want people to see. Something nasty." 

Kiseki blinked. "What?" 

"Yeah, nasty, that's it," Matto began to nod, apparently proud of his conclusion. "Little Miss Goth has something bad in her book." 

"Maybe she draws hentai," Vansu suggested, giving up on trying to open the lock with his bare hands, and resorting to banging it against the nearby lockers. 

"Stop that!" Kiseki demanded, her anxiety building higher each time the precious book collided with the metal lockers. 

"I think you're on to something," Matto told his friend. He turned his grin on Kiseki. "Is that what you have in there? Hentai?" 

"Are you crazy?" she spat, finally at her wits end. "Of course, not! Now, give me back my book!" 

Kiseki took a step towards Vansu, only to have Matto jump in front of her, his arm outstretched, hand placed against a locker to successfully block her. With a frown, he leaned towards her again. "Just give us the damn key." 

He smirked as she blinked golden eyes at him. He was about to repeat his demand when a gray clad arm shot in front of his view, making Matto jump back. A loud _slam_ resounded in the hallway as a palm-flat hand made contact with a locker. Heart racing, Matto slowly followed up the arm that was held protectively in front of Kiseki, whose shocked face probably mirrored his own. Matto's eyes continued up the arm until it reached the frowning face of someone he'd seen only a few times. Deep blue, cat-like eyes were narrowed, somehow aging the young, handsome face they graced. The new boy tilted his head, his short, light brown hair barely moving, except for a lone, long lock that swung in front of his right eye. 

"Didn't you know," said the interloper in a soft voice, "that it's rude to intimidate a woman?" 

"Eh?" Vansu mumbled behind Matto, too bemused to continue his abuse on the book in his hands. 

Matto was the first to bring himself back to his senses. With a snort, he shrugged. "What's it to you? I haven't even seen you around here much." 

"It doesn't matter," the boy said, brushing his lock of hair out of his eyes, his other arm still in a defensive stance in front of Kiseki. "You should know better than to attack a girl." 

"Hey, we weren't attacking her," Matto glowered. "We just wanted to see her sketchbook!" 

"It's not yours to see," Kiseki said, finding her voice again. 

The boy's blue eyes looked at her for a moment, then returned to Matto. "See? The lady wants her book back. So give it back." 

"`Ey!" Vansu pointed to the boy, his expression one of someone who had a great epiphany. "I know you! You're in my science class. You're that... " he began snapping his fingers, as if to jog his memory. "That Seiko guy! Yeah. Seiko, that's your name!" He grinned, rather proud of himself. 

"Seiko?" Matto repeated, erupting with laughter. "Isn't that a _girl's_ name? You have a girl's name!" 

Seiko's placid face immediately shifted into a deep scowl, and he snapped his hand out, grabbing Matto by his neck, and gripping him tightly enough to abruptly halt the laughter. "My parents weren't around to name me, okay?" he snarled, smacking Matto head first into the lockers. 

Kiseki cried out in fright and horror, as Seiko pulled his free arm back, before smashing it into Matto's face, resulting in a stomach turning _crunch,_ blood spurting out of the bully's nose. Seiko released him with a disgusted grunt, and Matto slipped to the floor, moaning and holding his face. Vansu's eyes dilated at the scene, and he turned on his heels, making a break for it. He yelped, tears building, when Seiko pulled him back by the back of his shirt. The boy went into hysterics as he was spun around to face the angry, blue eyed boy. 

"Please, don't hurt me!" Vansu begged, unknowingly clutching the sketchbook to his chest. 

Seiko's scowl remained. "Give the lady back her book." 

"Huh?" Vansu sniffled, shivering. 

"Her book," Seiko repeated, losing his patience. "Give it back." 

"Oh, yeah. Her book," Vansu nodded, rigorously. "Got it." 

With his hands still securely on Vansu's shirt, Seiko pushed the boy to Kiseki, who was biting her lip, nervously. 

"H-here. Take it!" Vansu thrust the book into her hands. He locked eyes with her, and his face crumbled. "Please, don't let him hurt me!" 

"That's enough," Seiko said, pulling the boy away from Kiseki. With cold precision, he gripped Vansu's neck. "I really hate guys who pick on women. Especially when they gang up. It's so pathetic." He glared at Vansu's tear stained face with revulsion. "I should probably break your nose, too." 

"N-no, please!" Vansu pleaded, his voice raising in pitch. 

"That's enough!" Kiseki placed a hand over the one Seiko was using to hold Vansu. "You've done enough, really. Let him go." 

"He shouldn't play bully if he can't deal with being bullied," Seiko stated, eyes focused on the quivering boy. 

"He's learned his lesson," she said. 

"God, yes!" Vansu cried. 

"Please, let him go," Kiseki requested, gently. "Beating him up now won't do either of you any good. I got my sketchbook back. It's okay. Really," she insisted. "Let him go. Please." 

Seiko's scowl didn't changed, but slowly he released his hold on Vansu, until the boy was able to run down the hall away from them, crying loudly as he did so. Matto, hands still to his bleeding face, stumbled after him, muttering something about lousy luck, lousy friends, and lousy timing. 

"You all right?" Seiko asked, finally turning his eyes to her. "They didn't hurt you, did they? If they did, I'll-" 

"They didn't touch me," Kiseki shook her head. "I'm fine." She ran her hand over her now bumped and scuffed sketchbook. "I can't say the same for my poor book, though." 

"Stupid bullies," Seiko growled. "I hate it when they pick on women. It ain't right. You sure you're okay?" he asked, again. 

"Fine," she nodded. She suddenly took a hold of his hand, frowning at his bleeding knuckles. "You hurt yourself," she stated, worriedly. 

"Nah, it's nothin'," he shrugged it off, pulling his hand back. "It's probably his blood, anyway." 

"You sure?" Kiseki bit her lip, hand outstretched to have another look. "It doesn't look like his blood to me." 

"It's fine! No big deal," Seiko thrust his hand into his jean pocket. 

"Well, okay then. If you say so," Kiseki sighed, knowing there was no way she'd get another look. "Thank you, by the way. You didn't have to help." 

"Eh," he brushed it off. "Guys shouldn't pick on women. It's not fair, and I don't like it." 

"Hm," she murmured, digesting that piece of information. With a small smile, she bowed. "Still, thank you, Seiko-san. My name's Kiseki. Kiseki Ichijouji." 

"'San,' huh?" Seiko smirked, amused. "Well, then, Kiseki-_san,_ the name's Seiko Natsuko. For now, anyway. Nice to meet you." 

Kiseki didn't quite know what to make of his expression; amused because of her formality, or amused because he thought she was just odd. She opened her mouth to state another, softer thank you, when her eyes caught sight of the clock on the wall. 

"Oh, I'm late!" she cried, biting her lip, and frantically looking behind her, down the hall. "I'll never make it in time now." 

Seiko blinked, startled at her outburst. "Late for what?" 

"A friend. She's waiting... " Kiseki quickly explained, upset. 

"Oh. Well, I'm sure-" 

"I know!" she interrupted, not talking to him. Her expression instantly switched from worried to relieved. "I should've thought of that." Kiseki finally looked back at the boy, and bowed again. "It was nice meeting you, Seiko-san. I hope to talk to you again sometime." 

With a final wave, the blue haired girl ran down the hall. It was just so abrupt, it took Seiko a moment to realize that she wasn't heading for an exit, but to the computer lab. For a few seconds, he thought he should just let her realize her error, for she would surely walk out soon enough with a sheepish expression. However, when a couple minutes went by with no sign of her re-emerging, Seiko found himself walking quickly over to the lab. 

"Hey, Kiseki-san!" he called, opening the door of the room. "The exit's not here. Did you get... 

The room was empty. The only thing that even told that there had been a hint of life in the room was a lone computer, its low drone and bright monitor signaling its recent use. Other than that, Kiseki was nowhere to be found. 

" ...Lost?" Seiko murmured, confused. "Where'd she go? 

*** 

Leala leaned against a tree outside the school, pouting with annoyance. " ...So, Mrs. Aino gave me detention this afternoon. She says she'll let me out when I can learn to control my temper," she scowled. 

"I guess we're walking without you then," Tenshi sighed, absently patting Kiyoshi's head. For her part, the silent child frowned in disappointment. "You know," Tenshi said, gently, "it couldn't hurt you to keep your cool every so often." 

"Well, those guys had it coming to them!" Leala defended, stubbornly. "I'm just as girlie as anyone else. And I'll pound any jerk into the ground who says otherwise," she added, smacking a fist into her open palm to emphasize her statement. 

Tenshi smiled, and shook his head. "You're hopeless, Leala-chan." 

"Yeah, well... " Leala's violet eyes searched behind the two people in front of her, brightening with recognition. "Hey, Yukio!" she suddenly shouted, running past Tenshi and Kiyoshi, to go over to a short red-headed boy, with black eyes focused on the blue pineapple laptop that rested on his legs. 

Tenshi stared after her. "Leala-chan has the shortest attention span I've ever seen. She's going to be late for detention," he said, making his way to his best friend. 

Kiyoshi nodded in agreement, quickly following, but with an added bounce in her step. 

"Haven't seen you around lately," Leala declared brightly, to the short Izumi. "Whatcha doing?" 

"Programming," Yukio muttered, adjusting his small, oval sunglasses, eyes never leaving the screen. "And I'd be a lot more successful without meaningless distractions." 

"I'm not meaningless!" Leala snapped, crossing her arms in a huff. 

"Uh, huh." His fingers flew across the keyboard, not even halting when Leala murmured something that he was sure was very unflattering, in French. He did not stop when Tenshi finally came up and greeted him. Yukio ignored Leala's complaint of his anti-social behavior to her blonde best friend. He pretended not to hear Tenshi saying that Leala was going to be late for something. 

What finally did stop Yukio, and his near incessant typing, was a flash of pink, yellow, and golden-red settling itself down next to him. Now, while someone simply sitting next to him would usually be easily ignored, this particular person Yukio found very hard to ignore. _Especially_ when she would place her head on his shoulder, like she was doing now. 

"Kiyoshi," he acknowledged, with a slight twitch born from dealing with the same situation repeatedly. 

The mute girl smiled up at him, giving him a quick hug, that, per normal, left him bright red and stuttering. She silently giggled at him, which made him tense up all the more. 

Leala grinned. "That's soooo cute!" she cooed, teasingly. 

"Shut up, Motomiya!" Yukio demanded, accidentally slamming his fists down on his vulnerable keyboard. 

The computer made a few, strange, guttural sounds, before the monitor began to glow to a blinding white, that left the four children covering their eyes. Whistling pierced the air, as if something was flying very quickly, and Tenshi felt something hit his stomach, his hands automatically going there to grab the offending object. 

"What the heck?!" The blonde boy heard his best friend cry, and Tenshi finally opened his blue eyes. 

"What the heck," Leala repeated, shaking a strange orange and white object in her hand, "is this thingamajig?" 

Tenshi's hand contracted reflexively, and he looked down, gazing wonderingly at the blue and white computer that he held. 

Yukio tapped his own purple and white device, surprised that it flipped open like a cell phone at his touch. Inside were a few unmarked buttons, as well as a strange indentation, like something was to be placed there. "Well, it looks almost like a Digivice... But that's not possible, of course." 

"A Digivice?" Leala brightened. "Really? Ya think? So cool!" 

Yukio frowned. "I said it's not-" 

"Hey, I wonder if it does anything nifty," Leala said, shaking the object. 

"Leala-chan, be careful," Tenshi cautioned. "We don't know what they are. Maybe we should leave them alone." 

"No way!" Leala declared. "The computer gave me my thingamajig-like Digivice, and I wanna keep it! Look at how cool it is, Tenshi-kun!" she squealed, delighted. She tapped her goggles. "I bet Papa would be so proud if he saw this. Jealous, too, maybe. His Digivice doesn't look like this." 

"We don't know if it is a Digivice," Yukio insisted. 

"What else could it be?" Leala challenged. 

Kiyoshi gave her red and white machine a light rap, seeing if it would open like Yukio's did. She frowned when the small, contorted triangular thing did nothing. With a small pout, she held it up to get a better look at its smooth design. Suddenly, there was a little clicking sound, and Kiyoshi smiled as her device opened. 

Her smile quickly converted to a jaw slacked _'oh,'_ as the small computer in her hand began to glow. 

"Kiyoshi," Tenshi cried, protecting his eyes from the brightness. "What did you do?" 

Even if Kiyoshi could speak, she never had a chance of answering. 

Only a few feet away, the doors of the school swung open, to reveal a cinnamon brown haired boy, surrounded by doting females. "Now, like I was saying," Hiro Yagami smiled, smoothly, "tryouts are going to be held in two weeks. That gives you all plenty of time to be prepared. And I do hope you're _all_ planning on being prepared," he grinned. "Because I know I'd _love_ to see all of you there." 

The girls giggled. One in particular grabbed hold of Hiro's arm. 

"Hiro-san," Doroko batted her eyes, "we're all going to be given an equal chance, right?" She ran her free hand through his thick hair. "I wouldn't want anyone to get... " Her voice dropped to a sultry whisper, and her hand swooped down to caress his neck just lightly enough to give him shivers. "Special treatment." 

"O-of course, not!" Hiro stuttered, managing not to squeak, even when two other girls grabbed him, both deciding that Hiro should pay more attention to them.   
As gently as he could, he struggled free. "I promise you, girls," he said turning away, "everyone will get a-" 

The words died on his tongue the instant he saw the bright light underneath a tree not so far off engulf his two cousins, Yukio, and Leala. It quickly subsided, and Hiro felt his heart drop. They were gone. 

Only the blue laptop remained. 

"What was that?!" he demanded, ignoring the shouts of surprise from his fangirls, as he dashed away from them. 

Hiro nearly skidded to his knees, stopping in front of the abandoned computer. He picked it up, staring at the screen in awe and disbelief. 

"Oh, man. Oh, man. Oh, man!" he murmured. "It just _ate_ them. Dude... It just ate them!" 

*** 

Tenshi Takaishi, at first, felt himself falling. Then, much to his dismay, he felt himself landing. Hard. With a grunt and a wheeze, the air rushed out of his lungs, and he pounded his chest, gasping to get it back. Tears stung his closed eyes, as he fought for breath. "L-Leala-chan?" he coughed. "Yukio? Kiyoshi!" 

"Do be quiet, Takaishi. You certainly took your time to drop in," Yukio said, calmly, from close by. "We're right here. Most of us, anyway." 

"Most of us?" Tenshi questioned, finally opening his eyes to look around. 

Kiyoshi crawled over to him, patting his arm, and smiling at him, relieved. About a foot away, Yukio sat, with his legs crossed, and a sour expression. 

"This is your fault, Kiyoshi," he accused. "You somehow activated something. I just wish," he muttered, shaking the device in his hand, "I knew what that something was." 

The golden-red haired girl placed her fist under her chin, clearly distraught that Yukio, of all people, was being so harsh to her. 

"Leave her alone," Tenshi defended, sitting up. His first question was quickly answered when he noted that Leala wasn't present. That fact made him more than uneasy. It made him downright sick. Mainly because he was probably just as lost as she was.   
So, he asked a second question. "Where are we?" 

"Look around, Takaishi," Yukio snapped, now fiddling with his new possession. "Where does it look like? If I only had my laptop... " 

Tenshi did look around, and quickly wished he had kept his eyes shut. They were in a forest of some kind. The grass was expectedly uncut, but the tone was wrong. It was bright, almost pastel like, with speckles of white and yellow. The foliage was various pink and blue hues, all much too garish to be normal. The tree bark was a deep blue or purple, the leaves varying up to the point of some individual leaves being multicolored. 

And the sky... Tenshi's head dropped back. The sky was an aqua that he didn't know existed, it too oddly bespeckled. Abnormal, and unnatural. Nothing looked right. 

"Oh, God," Tenshi gulped. "We're... We're... "  
  
  
"In the Digital World," Yukio helped, almost monotone. "Yes. But don't ask me why we're here yet. I don't know. Technically, we shouldn't be here. Only Chosen can be, and while the three of us --four if you include Motomiya-- have all been here on short visits with our parents, it should be impossible for us to travel here without our parental unit's Digivices and D3's." 

"You think Leala-chan's okay?" Tenshi asked, looking over worriedly. 

"Motomiya's the last problem we need to deal with," Yukio answered. "First, we have to figure out just where we are. Second, we have to figure out just how we got here. And third, we need to figure out just how to get back home." 

The ground underneath them began to tremble, and Kiyoshi, small as she was, grabbed hold of Tenshi in fright. Tenshi picked her up, scrambling to his feet in order to back away from whatever was coming. Yukio did the same. 

A ear-splitting howl pierced the air, causing the trio to flinch, and Tenshi sucked in his breath as a large, furry paw stomped into the clearing they inhabited. It didn't move for a moment, and neither did they, the sound of something sniffing being loudly heard. Then, with another horrible wail, and a twisted growl, a large, wolf-like creature emerged from the wood. 

Tenshi recognized it instantly, along with Kiyoshi. "Garurumon!" he exclaimed, relieved. "Thank God." 

"No," Yukio shook his head. "No!" 

"Eh?" Tenshi blinked confused. 

Kiyoshi understood, though. She loved playing with Garurumon. Her father used to help her up on the great beast's back, and she'd hug his white, blue striped fur as he'd race along. But this Garurumon was different. He was wrong. His fur was black as night, the stripes a bright white. Glaring with hungry yellow eyes at the trio, the Garurumon growled, saliva dripping down his fangs. 

"He must be viral," Yukio explained, frantically. "We gotta get out of here!" 

"_Freeze Fang!_" the viral Garurumon howled, the ice attack soaring at the three children with alarming speed. 

They managed to avoid it, but barely. Yukio could feel the coldness seep through his shoes. Still, he yelled for the other two to find cover in the woods, as he himself tried to do the same. Another _Freeze Fang_ forced them back, though, and Yukio cursed under his breath. 

"You entered my forest without my permission!" the Garurumon bellowed. "I will not permit that, humans." 

"We didn't mean to," Tenshi tried to explain. "We just-" 

"You should not be here!" the Garurumon shouted. "Disobedience towards the rules of my forest falls hard. And I am hungry." 

Kiyoshi let out a silent scream, finding herself being flung out of the safety of Tenshi's arms, as another attack rained close on them. She tumbled roughly along the ground, rocks scraping her hands, and dirt flying into her mouth, making her gag. When Kiyoshi finally came to a stop, she tried her best to scramble up, only to be knocked down again by the Garurumon's giant paw landing right next to her. 

"Oh," he rumbled, leaning down to get a better look at the frightened child. "An appetizer." 

"Leave her alone!" Yukio declared. 

The Garurumon easily ignored the order, eagerly leaning down to lap up his trembling first course. 

"_Sound Wave!_" 

A streak of blue energy hailed through from the woods, clapping the viral digimon on his open jaw, and making him yelp in shock. 

"_Sound Wave!_" came the cry again, this time accompanied not only by the blue hued attack, but by a small, dull purple cat digimon jumping out of the bushes. Her green eyes glared up at the large Adult, and she took a defensive stance, trying to look impressive with her small, Child size. She was a lanky thing, with large paws and ears, with a ball shaped blue bell for the tip of her thin tail.   
"_Sound Wave!_" she snapped for a third time, whipping her tail, the bell creating an unnaturally loud noise, and causing the attack to rumble toward the viral Garurumon. 

This time prepared, the Adult digimon swatted away the offensive maneuver without trouble. "What's this?" he scoffed. "A little kitty wants to play, too?" 

The cat digimon hissed, her tail shaking wildly, the bell sounding. 

"Bellmon," someone said from the woods, "be careful. He's viral." Tenshi's mouth fell open when a familiar figure walked into the clearing. He never really was ever close to her, but there wasn't anyone at school who didn't know who she was. She glanced up at the Garurumon, who was now glaring at her in confusion. 

"Where are all you little humans coming from?" the digimon demanded. 

The girl ignored him, reaching behind her back, and pulling out a device just like the trio had. A black one. She held it out, and it automatically flipped open. In the indentation, a dark pink symbol, resembling some sort of stylized flower, began to glow. "Bellmon," the girl ordered, "shinka yo!" 

The cat digimon tensed. "Bellmon shinka... " 

As if sent by God Himself, light descended on the Child digimon, seemingly devouring her, then changing shape along with her, until it faded to reveal a much larger cat in its wake. No longer was she lanky or small; she was now healthy looking and clearly a match to Garurumon when it came to height. Her green eyes were narrowed, and her now fluffed, bell-less tail swung dangerously, as she lowered her odd, curling ears. 

"Accumon!" the new form declared herself loudly. 

"Accumon," the girl said, glancing up with complete faith at her partner, "take him down. But be gentle." 

"Yes," the cat nodded. 

The Viral Garurumon snorted. "Doesn't matter how large you become," he roared. "You're still just a cat!" 

He lunged at her, and the two Adult digimon began to trade blows so hard, they uprooted trees with their force. 

And Tenshi would have been paying attention to it all, if his eyes weren't so focused on the girl who was now watching the fight with earnest. He just never expected to see _her,_ of all people. 

"Kiseki Ichijouji...?" he murmured, now utterly lost. "What's going on? Leala-chan, where are you?" 

**Next Chapter: Flower Child**


	4. Chapter 3: Flower Child

Flower Child _Disclaimer:_ I don't own Digimon. However, all the original characters in this story are my intellectual property. Spiffy, ain't it? 

_Author's Notes:_ Yeah, I'm still writing. Horrible, ain't it? If you get lost, just remember chapter one clearly states who's related to whom. Oh, and have no fear. I'm making sure that at least one of the 01/02 CC appear in every chapter. I will _not_ forget them. You have my word. ;) 

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**Circle Game**   
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**Chapter 3: Flower Child**

Leala Motomiya wasn't quite sure where she was, and honestly, she really did not care. Wherever it was, it was warm and soft, and comfortable enough for her to go past her half-asleep state to a full out nap. 

However, Fate decided that the begoggled girl was not going to get off so easily. 

Something, or someone, poked her hard in the stomach. 

"Yee-ouch!" Leala's violet eyes shot open, and she jerked to a sitting position, one hand on her stomach. 

Large, aqua eyes stared back at her, blinking when she did, and narrowing and widening at the same time, as well. Slowly, Leala refocused away from the eyes, and onto the face that wore them. The aqua eyes blinked on a sphere-like yellow head, with a heart shaped mouth with two tiny fangs sticking out of it. Large, pink petals frame the creature's face, covering a good deal of its yellow body, which billowed out like a skirt, green legs sticking out. The creature, still not speaking, lifted a green arm, revealing a flower for a hand, and tapped Leala on the nose. 

The pollen there promptly made Leala sneeze. 

"Bless you, Leala-chan!" the creature declared brightly, smiling. 

"Thanks," Leala muttered, wiping her nose. Her eyes suddenly widened when the full affect of everything hit her like a truck. "Hey!" Leala yelped, backing away while on the ground. "Where am I? How'd I get here? Where is everyone? Who are you, and how do you know my name?" 

The creature stared blankly at her for a long moment, until finally uttering, "Huh?" 

Leala jumped to her feet, scanning the surrounding area, while trying to keep her eye on the thing in front of her. After all, she didn't know just what the creature was. Soon, however, she couldn't have cared less if there was a hungry tiger staring at her. 

"The Digital World!" Leala squealed, delighted. "So cool! I'm in the Digital World." She tapped a blue colored tree. "And without Papa's D3. So, these things gotta be Digivices!" She reached down to grab her device, only to find that it wasn't in her pants pocket. More to the point, her pants no longer had pockets. "What the... ?' 

Leala began to frantically look down at her clothing, her squealing becoming higher at every moment. Her T-shirt, jeans and ratty shoes were gone, replaced with a black leather trenchcoat with matching pants. With a slight moment of panic, she reached up, and breathed a sigh of relief upon feeling her goggles still in their rightful place. 

"This is... " she murmured. "_So cool!_" Then, she frowned, puzzled. "But, where'd my Digivice go?" 

"Right here, Leala-chan!" said the creature, happily holding up the white and orange object. "You dropped it when you fell here. I thought you weren't ever going to wake up," the little flower digimon confided. 

"Um, thanks," Leala said, hesitantly taking her Digivice back, and strapping it to her belt. "How do you know my name, anyhoo?" 

"Anyhoo... mon?" the digimon blinked. "No, my name's not Anyhoomon, Leala-chan. It's Petalmon!" 

"Petalmon," Leala repeated to herself. "Okay, then. Petalmon, how do you know me? I don't think I've ever seen a digimon like you during my visits here with Papa and Mama." 

"You're silly, Leala-chan," giggled Petalmon. "I know you because I've been waiting for you." 

Leala raised a brow. "Eh?" 

"Waiting for a long, long time," Petalmon sighed, obviously lost in thought. "Sometimes, I hated it. But I knew it would be worth the wait. I knew you were going to be the most funnest friend ever! My partner, Leala-chan!" she proclaimed, grabbing hold of Leala's upper legs, and giving her the fiercest hug she could. 

Leala wobbled in the embrace. "Part-- Whoa!" She lost what little footing she had, and fell back, Petalmon still gripping her. "Ow... " 

The digimon blushed, and finally let go. "Sorry, Leala-chan." 

"S'okay," Leala winced, sitting up. She gazed appraisingly at the digimon. "So, you're my _partner_, huh?" 

"Yup!" Petalmon grinned, nodding enthusiastically. 

"As in, a Chosen Child Partner?" Leala questioned. 

"Yup!" Petalmon repeated, still grinning merrily. 

"As in, I'm a Chosen Child, and you're my Chosen Partner?" Leala stood up, one brow raised. 

"Yup!" Petalmon chirped once more, standing up as well. 

"That's... That's a lotta news," Leala admitted, placing a hand on her hip, the other hand raised so she could tap her goggles. 

She had always wondered what it would be like, to be Chosen, like her parents. Zap to the Digital World whenever she felt like it, save the world with her super powered digimon. Be a hero. Of course, that also entailed lots of hard work, constant risks of life, and possible emotional and physical trauma. Her parents wouldn't be too thrilled, either. And Leala wasn't much into the idea of dying before she became a famous soccer player. 

Tapping her goggles harder, she looked down at her change of clothing, then at Petalmon, who smiled up at her. The digimon's aqua eyes shone with untold happiness, and Leala felt her mouth quirk up a little. 

"This is the coolest thing _ever!_" Leala finally shouted, much to Petalmon's vocal delight. "Oh, hey," Leala frowned, once again tapping her headgear. "How am I gonna find everyone? They got zapped here, too. I think," she added. 

"I don't know," Petalmon said, obviously disappointed that she couldn't help her new-found Partner. "I'm not a very good tracker." 

"The Digital World is huge!" Leala exclaimed, pacing in a small circle. "They coulda landed anywhere. Oh, well," she stopped abruptly, and shrugged. "I guess we'll just have to go look for them. C'mon, Petalmon!" With a wave of her hand, Leala started out, into the thick woods. 

"Eh?" Petalmon stared after her for a few seconds confused over Leala's mood swing. Then, she shrugged herself, and chased after the curly haired girl. "Wait, Leala-chan!" 

*** 

"Hiro-san," Doroko placed a gentle hand on the brunette boy's shoulder, "are you okay?" 

Hiro's cinnamon brown eyes remained locked on the laptop he held. So focused was he on the machine, that Doroko's question made him jolt in shock. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," he murmured, off handedly as he stood up, still gripping the laptop. 

"Are you sure?" Doroko asked, dark brown eyes filled with concern. 

"Yeah, sure," Hiro muttered, walking away, like he was entranced. 

His fanbase looked on, confused, and Doroko pouted with worry. Not fully registering what he was doing, Hiro walked over to his dirt bike, taking the safety chain, and using it to secure the blue laptop on his handle bars. Then, grasping the still exposed grips, he hopped on and took off down the street, the houses and apartments soon becoming mere blurs. 

As he sped along, his thoughts flew by, as well. His cousins were gone, as well as Yukio and Leala. Most likely in the Digital World, if the blinking laptop was any indication. Okay, how? They'd need a Digivice or D3, something none of them had. So, one of them had to swipe it from a parent. Hiro didn't think it was either of his cousins; Tenshi was far too respectful, and Kiyoshi knew better. He wasn't at all close to Yukio --no one was-- but Hiro couldn't picture the serious boy doing something so foolish. Leala, however, he could. All too easily. 

So, Leala got them all zapped into the Digital World. Okay. He could handle this. He was twelve, after all. He'd been responsible for the camera work for the past four school plays, and he was going to direct this one. He could figure this out. Just go inside, tell one of his parents what had happened, and they'd go off to find the four lost children. It was the responsible thing to do, after all. 

However, as Hiro chained his bike up in his apartment's garage, and took the elevator up, he began to play with the notion of going in himself. His father had once shown him how his Digivice worked. Just hold, point, and shout, "Digital Gate, open!" Easy enough. 

Hiro nearly whacked himself over the head at the thought. He couldn't do that! He couldn't risk that much responsibility! He... He just wasn't ready for it. Sure, telling his parents was one thing. It was the mature, right thing to do. But, stealing one of his parents' Digivices and going in alone? That was insane! What if he got lost? Or stuck somewhere? Or _eaten?_

Feeling almost ill, Hiro walked into his apartment, the sight of his mother getting ready to run out to work greeting him. She was stuffing some make-up hurriedly into her purse with one hand, snatching up her wallet and car keys off the kitchen counter with the other. Palmon stood by her side, staring almost in awe at the quick movements of her Partner. 

"Hiro!" Mimi smiled at her son, as she slipped her pink purse's strap onto her shoulder. "Perfect timing. Palmon and I are just about to leave. Be a dear and vacuum the apartment before your father gets home, okay?" 

"Uh... Okay," Hiro shrugged, his eyes going back and forth between Mimi's face and her purse, where he knew she had her Digivice. If he could just make an excuse... Oh, no! No, no. No, no, no. He was _not_ going to do it. Was not. "Uh, Mom," he stuttered, his calm exterior melting down into nerves, "I h-have a small problem... " 

"You do?" Mimi halted everything she was doing, putting full attention on her son. Hiro almost hated when she did this; he felt guilty for taking up her time. With a reassuring smile, Mimi walked over to him, giving him a light tap on the head. "Tell Mommy, sweetie." 

"Yeah, uh, you see, on my way out of school, I... " His tongue seemed to twist into a knot, and a bunch of jumble nonsense began to stumble out. "Well, I just, I saw, I think I... It just happened so fast... It's all very confusing, and... I just thought you should know that... " Hiro bit his lip. He had to do this. He had to tell. His hands, still guiltily gripping the laptop, were covered in sweat. Just tell. That's it. Tell.   
He took a breath. "I just wanted to tell you that... I love you very much!" he gushed, throwing his arms around Mimi, making sure not to hit her with the laptop. 

"Hiro!" his mother giggled, returning the embrace. "I love you, too. But, I have to go now, hon. Don't want Mommy to be late, do you?" 

Hiro winced. Stupid instincts! His eyes went to Mimi's purse. He was so close now. She'd never know; he'd just reach in and snag the Digivice. He'd bring it back soon enough. No one would know. 

"Anything else you want to tell me?" Mimi asked, fondly. 

His hand reached for the purse... "I... Um, I really just, uh, wanted you to know that I appreciate you. I don't tell you that often." Just a few more seconds, that's all he needed. No one would know! 

"Oh, you're such a sweet boy!" Mimi tightened her grip. "I'm so glad you grew up so well. You never cause me any trouble." 

Hiro's hand froze. 

"I just know that I could count on you for anything." 

Slowly, his hand moved away from the purse. "Gee, thanks, Mom," he murmured, miserably. 

"Well," Mimi grinned, giving him a quick kiss on the forehead, "we're off. Remember your promise." 

He blinked. "Huh?" 

"Vacuum!" she called, she and Palmon heading out the door. 

" ...Okay, Mom," he said, as the door shut, leaving him alone. He stared on a for a few minutes, before looking down at the blue laptop he still held. "Dammit!" Hiro nearly slammed the thing down onto the coffee table, and flipped it open. The screen blinked at him, but nothing more. "What was I thinking?" he asked to no one. "I must've lost my mind. Completely nuts.   
"Stupid me. Stupid computer!" he pointed at the offending object. "I swear, I'll figure out a way to get everyone back, or my name's not Hiro Yagami!" He paused for a dramatic effect. Then, he realized there was no audience to appreciate his performance. "Stupid computer," he repeated, with far less force, and much more annoyance. 

The laptop blinked back. 

Hiro scowled, and challenged, "Can't you do anything but that?!" 

Much to his surprise, it did. With a pulse of light, something shot into his hand. However, Hiro didn't notice it, for he was far more focused on the fact that he was being pulled forward, very forcefully, and very fast. 

When the pulse of light burnt out, Hiro was gone, and only the laptop was proof of his existence. 

With a _*click*_, the computer stopped blinking. 

*** 

Kiseki winced, her hand instinctively going to her shoulder, as she watched the viral Garurumon slash into her partner's side with his dagger-like claws. She didn't know how well Accumon could manage in this fight; she didn't have much room to maneuver, and was trying to keep the destruction away from the children. She needed space to finish the dark Garurumon off. 

As it stood, Accumon was doing what she could to keep the kids safe, blocking most of the attacks, but taking a great deal of damage and pain doing so. She hissed in agony, as the Garurumon bit deeply into her side. Howling in anger, she threw him off, clawing at his eyes. 

"Come on!" Kiseki hollered, running over to where Tenshi, Kiyoshi and Yukio stood, watching the fight in awe. "Into the woods!" she ordered over the chaos behind her. "Move!" 

Yukio looked like he was about to argue, but Kiyoshi took hold of his arm, and began to drag him away, following Kiseki. Tenshi followed, as well, though he was hindered by constantly craning his neck to see the fight. 

However, it was that craning that saved his life, as he barely managed to dodge a stray attack from Garurumon. As it was, he could feel his left foot actually stinging from the cold that almost hit him. He tumbled to the ground, grasping his foot, containing a groan of pain as best he could. 

Accumon blocked another _Freeze Fang_ with her tail, hissing as she took a savage swipe at Garurumon's head. However, as much as she defended, the feline Adult could not stop the advancing viral digimon; he was getting closer to his human targets every moment, snapping and clawing at Accumon at such a fast rate, it was all she could do to keep up. In a move too quick to catch, the viral Garurumon pounced onto Accumon's back, sinking his teeth into her neck as if to snap it in his jaws. Beside Tenshi, Kiseki screamed in horror. 

"Accumon! _Accumon!!_" she shrieked, for one rare moment showing a loss of self control. Tenshi curiously watched, as the indigo haired girl closed her eyes tightly, her face contorted from some internal conflict. Then, without opening her eyes, Kiseki called out in a strained voice, "Accumon! D-do what you have to do, but defeat him. Defeat him!" 

Accumon's green eyes narrowed in sudden determination, and with a deep, loud hiss, she flung the viral Garurumon off herself. Crouching low to brace herself, the feline Adult dodged the brunt of another _Freeze Fang_, jumping over the attack and landing almost face to face with her adversary. 

_"Wailing Treble!"_ she screamed, a shock of maroon flying out of her mouth, and striking the Garurumon hard. Kiseki turned away, her hands over her eyes, as the attack exploded deafeningly, deleting the virus in a rain of pixels. 

With an exhausted sigh, Accumon devolved to a very haggard Bellmon, who collapsed, panting. 

"Oh, Bellmon!" Kiseki cried, turning back and running to her partner. With a sob, the girl scooped up the tired cat digimon. "I'm so sorry. Are you all right?" 

"Fine, Kiseki," replied Bellmon, rubbing her face against Kiseki's in a comforting manner. "I'm sorry I upset you. I know you don't like me to hurt anyone." 

"It's okay," Kiseki whispered. "It's not your fault. He didn't leave us much choice, did he?" 

The tired cat digimon shook her head, sadly. 

Shaking his still stinging foot, Tenshi stood up. "Kiseki Ichijouji." 

Golden eyes looked away from their partner and focused on the blonde boy. "Yes?" 

Tenshi blinked a moment, almost unnerved by the girl. Softly, he murmured, "I... Was wondering- " 

"You know how to work your Digivice," Yukio interrupted, walking over to the girl. "You have a Partner, as well, so I'm assuming you've been here before. If you could- " 

Kiyoshi gripped the redhead's arm, shaking her head disapprovingly. 

Yukio frowned. "What?" 

Sighing, Kiyoshi signed her response slowly, hoping he caught the gist of what she was trying to get across. 

"So what?" Yukio scowled at the younger girl's mild lecture. "She's not that upset. And she should tell us what she knows. It's only logical." 

Kiyoshi gave the boy a withering look, before turning her attention to Kiseki. With a small, friendly smile, she waved. 

" ...Hello," Kiseki replied, softly. 

"Pointless small talk," Yukio muttered. "We have more pressing matters." 

For once, Tenshi ignored Yukio's rudeness. "Leala-chan... Leala-chan's here somewhere. We have to find her." 

"Leala... Motomiya?" Kiseki asked, eyes widening. "That's why I saw four new lights on my D-Cell instead of three." 

"D-Cell?" Yukio repeated. 

"My Digivice," Kiseki clarified, holding out the black, deformed triangular machine. It flipped open, the screen on the top showing different colored blinking lights. 

"Interesting," Yukio murmured, opening his as well. His usually calm, black eyes widened. "Hey... With you with us and Motomiya somewhere, there should be five lights all together, correct?" 

"Yes," Kiseki nodded. 

"Well, my... D-Cell is showing seven lights," Yukio stated. 

"What?" The indigo haired girl stared at her device. "Mine isn't showing five anymore, but it's showing six now, not seven." 

"Seven on mine," said Tenshi, showing off his screen. 

Kiyoshi held hers up, as well, revealing seven blinking lights. 

"Curious," Yukio fixed his tilting sunglasses. "I wonder why yours is only showing six." 

"Oh, it's your Partners," Kiseki remembered. "That extra light must be your Partner. My D-Cell had an extra light on it before I met Bellmon. That has to be it." She scratched the cat digimon fondly behind the ear, before her Partner jumped gracefully to the ground. 

"So, this group of lights is us," said Tenshi, eyebrows furrowed. "And these three lights represent Leala-chan, my Partner, and someone else. Which one's which?" 

"Well, the three separate lights are orange, gray and purple," Yukio said. "However, there's a purple light in our group of lights, as well." 

"That can't be right," Tenshi said, softly. "The three lights are orange, gray and _blue_. Kiyoshi, what're the colors on your screen?" 

The girl showed off her device, revealing their group of maroon, blue, red, purple and blue lights, as well as separate orange, gray and another _red_ light. 

"That's very odd," Yukio stated. 

"The two lights on mine are orange and gray," Kiseki informed them. "Those must be Leala-san and another Chosen that's fallen here. So, the other light on your D-Cell's must be your Partner. Your Partner must match the light that represents you.   
"So," she looked around, "who do we go after first? Leala-san or the other Chosen, whichever light they might be, or your Partners?" 

"Partner," Yukio said, quickly. 

"Leala-chan!" Tenshi snapped, for once not allowing his shyness to get the better of him. 

"Why? Motomiya can take care of herself," Yukio argued. "And the other Chosen will probably be okay, too. Why not look for our Partners? Aren't you curious?" 

"Of course, I am," Tenshi defended. "But I'm not leaving Leala-chan out there alone! You can go off looking for your Partner if you want, but I'm not that heartless. I'm going after Leala-chan!" 

Yukio shrugged. "Fine. Do what you want, Takaishi. I'll see you around." 

Without a second glance, the small boy turned on his heel and walked away, following the light to where his new Partner would hopefully be. Worried, Kiyoshi moved to follow, but Tenshi gripped her shoulder. 

"You're staying with us," he said. "Let Yukio go. If he wants to be a jerk, let him." 

Kiyoshi wanted to argue against their splitting up, but with no voice to speak with, and Tenshi not that well versed in Sign, she was forced to resort to a saddened sigh. 

"So," Kiseki began, holding her arm out in the direction of one of the lights on the screen, "shall we go?" 

*** 

"I don't get this," Seiko Natsuko muttered for what seemed like the fiftieth time. Perhaps it was. "She was right here. She had to be. Did she go out the window?" He looked up, only to see the same windows, still closed and locked from the inside, staring at him. 

He had spent the last twenty minutes roaming through the computer lab, looking for the mysterious Kiseki, who had just as mysteriously vanished. The one computer that had been on when he opened the door of the room was still humming and blinking its screen. Otherwise, the place was deserted. 

Honestly, Seiko felt enormously stupid looking around the place still. After five minutes, he should've left and gone home. What did he care about this girl, anyway? He didn't know her... He didn't think. Which was odd. He knew he hadn't met her before, but there was something familiar. Maybe her hair, or her eyes... Those golden eyes... Maybe he had been in a foster home where someone else had had golden eyes. Yes, that was probably it. He'd been in so many they were all a blur now. 

That was probably another reason why he hadn't have left. His new foster home wasn't working out, per usual. He'd leave soon, chances were, and be placed in a new school district, as well. So, what was spending a few extra minutes at school to him, anyway? 

"Goddammit!" Seiko swore, pounding his fist on one of the tables. "Where the hell could she have gone?" 

The room answered with silence. 

"Shit, this is ridiculous," he grumbled, storming towards the doorway. "I'm getting the hell outta here." 

"My, my, what a mouth," tsked someone. "Do you kiss your mother with it?" 

Seiko spun around, blue eyes darting, but seeing no one. "Who's there? C'mon out, jackass!" 

"Now, where's a bar of soap when I need it?" the smooth, masculine voice pondered, amused. "To think, you're one of them. And what you represent! Stranger things have happened, I guess." 

Seiko clenched his fists, now extremely irritated. "Where are you?!" 

"Over here, hot head," the voice replied. 

Seiko blinked, seeing nothing. "Where?" 

"Here. Over here! The blinking computer," the voice clarified, rather annoyed. "I'm hard to miss." 

"What the hell... ?" the boy trailed, not knowing what to say, as he walked slowly to the humming computer. 

"Must you curse?" the voice asked. "It's very unbecoming for a young man." 

"Psh, what's it to you?" Seiko challenged, suddenly more defensive than bewildered. 

"Ooo, what a temper. You're going to be interesting," the voice sighed. "Oh, well. Nothing to be done about it, I suppose. Now, hang on. They're waiting for you." 

"Huh?" Seiko took a wary step back. "Who? What?" 

"The others. They're waiting," said the voice, as if it explained everything. "Now, just hold tight. This'll only take a minute." 

"What the goddamn hell- ?!" 

Whatever Seiko was going to say was cut off, as the light flashed, consuming him and pulling him towards a shared destiny. When the computer light faded, the boy was gone. 

The voice sighed, wearily. "I really don't know what I did to deserve this. As if the first two groups weren't hard enough to handle... " 

*** 

She was cold. So very cold, and very scared. The place was pitch black, her bare feet touching the cold, wet ground. A bitter wind blew, biting through the thin material of her hospital outfit. It always started like this. She never did like the beginning. She shivered, sucking in cold air through chattering teeth. Even rubbing her goosebumped arms didn't warm her a bit. 

Soon, however, the light began to form, like it always did. It swelled, encompassing an area that, no matter how hard she tried, she could never reach. How she wanted to reach it. To actually see who was there, instead of just their form. 

But the form was all she saw; a small, shadowed figure, black among the light, floating in the air. The only thing she was sure of was that the figure wasn't human, and that it was female. She didn't know how, the figure's voice never did hint to gender, but she just knew it was female. It remained suspended, bobbing a bit, the cloud around its back feet wispy. 

"You came!" exclaimed the figure, delighted. 

"Of course," she smiled, the cold around her seeming to melt away from the figure's presence. "I always do, don't I?" 

"We'll be together soon," informed the figure, happily. "We won't have to meet like this anymore." 

She frowned, confused. "How? You know they won't let me out... " 

"You'll see. I've seen it," the figure said. "You'll be free. And we'll be together!" 

"I... " she smiled, a sense of calmness coming over her. "I'd like that." 

"Me too!" 

The light began to throb, then, like it did every so often, until it brightened to the point that it was hurting her sensitive eyes, and she needed to shield them. And along with the pulsing light, the figure's form changed. It was something she was used to, but still came to dread. It meant their meeting would be cut short. The figure could never stay long in its other form. 

"I have to go," the figure explained sadly, its voice sounding older now. 

"Don't, please," she begged, her heart actually hurting at the thought. Their meetings were far too short nowadays. She tried to stare through the painful light, to finally, actually _see_ what her friend looked like. It was far too bright; all she could see was a tail. A long tail. 

"I'll be back soon," the figure promised. "Don't worry. They won't be able to keep us apart for long." 

"Wait... Wait!" she called, the light fading, everything fading. It was all getting hazy, cloudy. The air around her became thick, until it no longer felt like air, but like fabric. Until it was fabric, and she was no longer in her dream, but awake and in bed.   
"No! Come back!" she cried, red eyes opening for tears to slip out. "Please, come back! I'm scared here!" 

She tried to get out of her bed, but leather straps held her arms and legs down, biting unforgivingly into her skin. They had restrained her again, like they usually did at night. Her dreams, so real to her, were deemed unhealthy delusions. She knew if she kept crying out they'd come in to medicate her. She didn't care. She was so scared, and her friend was gone. And her loved one... He was in another room. They didn't allow them to be together. That tore at her everyday, ripped slowly at her sanity, threatening it. 

"Come back!" she screamed, burning tears now pouring down her pale skin. "Please, don't leave me! Please! Come back!" 

She kept on calling, and sure enough, they came in, asking her in gentle tones to calm down, all the while holding her roughly down so one could stick a needle in her arm. It only made her screams that much worse. 

"Nori! I want Nori! Where is he?! Please, can I see Nori? _Nori!!!_" 

A few rooms away, a small, pale boy pressed his face against the padded wall. He couldn't hear her; he couldn't hear anything in his room. But he knew his loved one was calling out for him. He closed his blood red eyes, petting the wall, trying to imagine it was her, trying to somehow get through to her from where he was. 

"It's okay, Nariko," he whispered. "I'm right here. You're safe. We'll be fine. I promise. I'm right here... " 

**Next Chapter: How Illogically Logical**


	5. Chapter 4: How Illogically Logical

_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Digimon. However, all the original characters in this story are my intellectual property. Spiffy, ain't it? 

Author's Notes: For those who want to be put on a mailing list to be informed of when I (and a few other authors) update their fanfiction, e-mail me at Filled_Nothingness@hotmail.com, and I'll gladly put you on the list. 

*******   
**Circle Game**   
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**Chapter 4: How Illogically Logical**

Catherine Motomiya was scribbling down the rough budget outline to her and her husband's noodle cart chain, when the phone rang in its shrill way. With a sigh, she leaned back in the cushy living room chair that Daisuke had long ago claimed his own, and reached for the receiver. 

"Allo," she greeted, then mentally scolded herself. No matter how many years in Japan she was, it seemed she'd always slip into her native tongue when answering the phone. 

"Um... Is this the Motomiya residence?" asked an unsure voice. 

"Yes, it is," said Catherine, dutifully slipping back into Japanese. 

"Ah, yes. Good," snipped the voice. "This is Mrs. Aino, your daughter's principal." 

Something cold gripped Catherine's heart. "Is... Is something wrong with Leala? Is she okay?" 

"Actually, Mrs. Motomiya," said Mrs. Aino, "I was hoping you could tell me." 

Catherine blinked. "What?" 

"Leala didn't show up for detention today," Mrs. Aino informed her. "I don't know where she is." 

The question of why Leala had detention to begin with for once didn't cross Catherine's mind. All that mattered was her little girl was missing. Again. Memories of long ago flashed through the French woman's mind. Of her little four year old daughter gone without a trace. A week of wondering, worrying, and crying on her husband's shoulder. A week that she never wanted to relive. "Are you sure? Maybe she's outside somewhere, and-" 

"Mrs. Motomiya, don't you think I've already looked?" Mrs. Aino asked, slightly annoyed. "Now, I don't know how the people in _your_ country raise their children, but over _here_ we make sure that have a little more respect. I think it would be a good idea if-" 

"Au revoir, Mme Aino," Catherine muttered, pressing down on the receiver. 

"Catherine?" Floramon prompted from her seat next to her Partner. "Is Leala all right?" 

"I don't know," Catherine whispered, already halfway through punching in a telephone number. 

"Hello?" greeted a masculine voice on the other end. 

"Daisuke?!" Catherine gripped the receiver tightly, desperately trying to hold down her panic. 

"Cathy? You sound horrible. Is something wrong?" he asked, worry evident. 

"Is Leala with you?" she queried. 

"No. Why would she be at one of our noodle carts now? What's going on?" the last question was soft, and overly calm. Catherine knew it; Daisuke was already on the border of Overprotective Father Mode. 

"She didn't show up for detention today, and she's not here," Catherine explained. 

"Well, maybe she ditched and went to practice. Or Tenshi's," Daisuke added. "You know how she can be sometimes." 

"Maybe. Probably," Catherine sighed, calming herself, and trying to loosen her hold on the receiver. "I'll call Hikari." 

"And I'll check the soccer field, okay?" 

Catherine nodded, fingers rubbing her temples. "Okay. Call me." 

"I will. Love you," he murmured, before hanging up. 

"Je vous aime, aussi, aimé," she replied. 

*******

His thick shoes crunching on the ground, Yukio took another look at his D-Cell. The purple and white device showed he was getting closer to his partner, and farther away from the other children. It probably would be dangerous to go too far from them, but he'd have to take that chance. Besides which, they had Ichijouji with them, and she obviously had been in the Digital World without parental guidance previously. Still, he was, most likely, the most informed about the Digiworld. 

Not that he really cared about the others. He never felt the urge to socialize with them. He'd much rather spend his time on his laptop. And the other children never really made an effort. Sure, Motomiya would chirp her little head off at him till Yukio felt the need to smack her with his laptop. And Takaishi would greet softly but warmly. Hell, you could barely hear Takaishi, which was fine with Yukio. Other Chosen spawn would bother him every so often, like Yagami and his damned camera, but he could even deal with that. 

There was only one who ever really got under his skin. One that ever managed to truly bother and annoy Yukio. Kiyoshi. Without speaking, without moving, without anything, she would drive him insane. She'd just sit and watch him. He didn't understand it. He didn't understand her. And Yukio never liked what he didn't understand. Then, of course, there was always the fact that she'd hug him, and cuddle, and... _Touch!_ Didn't she know what "personal space" meant? 

Yukio shook his head. Now was no time to think about foolish things like that. He took another look at his D-Cell. The lights seemed even closer now. Only a little while longer. 

The bushes to Yukio's right began rustle, and the short redhead stopped in his tracks. Instincts told him to bolt, his brains, however, told him sudden movements were out of the question. Per usual, his brains overruled instinct. He took a slow breath, hooking his D-Cell back onto his shorts. As if nothing was troubling, he took one relaxed step. 

Yukio quickly learned that sometimes instinct is smarter than brains, as the bush seemingly exploded, and some screeching, green _thing_ leaped out. Yukio screamed in fear as the blob toppled him over, and turned his world dark. 

*******

Petalmon moved her green legs as fast as she could, but, try as she might, she couldn't keep up with her partner. The girl with cherry brown curls was putting quite a bit of ground between the two of them, calling out for her lost friends. 

"Ah, Leala-chan, wait up!" Petalmon cried, leaping as best she could to her newfound friend. She just managed to latch onto Leala's waist, wrapping her arms around the girl as tight as possible. Petalmon made a high squeak of surprise when Leala did not slow down. Then, noticing that holding onto Leala-chan as a mode of transportation wasn't so bad, the flower digimon laughed. 

Leala finally looked down, violet eyes blinking with curiosity. Slowly, she smiled at her digimon's laughing face. "Oh," she raised a brow, "so you like that, huh? Well, then... How `bout this?!" she declared, spinning around like a top, now laughing herself. 

The two laughed and twirled for a bit, every so often wobbling slightly, until Leala finally lost all sense of balance, and they fell over in a dizzy heap. They hit the soft ground, still laughing, Leala sat up, scooping Petalmon into her arms and hugging her. 

"You're a silly digimon!" she exclaimed, giggling. 

"You're a silly human!" Petalmon countered, hugging her back. "My Leala-chan!" 

Grinning, Leala stood up, laughing some more when Petalmon refused to let go of her waist. "Okay, then," she shrugged. "I guess I'll just have to carry you." 

"Yay!" Petalmon cheered, delighted. 

As the two walked through the wood, Petalmon remained attached to Leala's waist, the girl not speaking up once to complain. It actually felt kind of nice to have the flower digimon holding on. Like she fit there. It was almost strange, but Leala remembered her parents talking about when they had met their own partners. It was like a piece of yourself was finally put into its proper place. An instant connection, some strange mystical bond. Whatever it was, Leala thought Petalmon was just right for her. 

"Gah!" 

Leala blinked at the shout. "Quoi?" 

"Leala-chan, look out!" Petalmon shouted in warning. 

Leala turned her head both ways to see what Petalmon was warning her about, only to find out that the danger wasn't beside her, but _above_ her. Something large, heavy, and flailing fell on top of the girl and her digimon with a loud _grunt._

"Ow-how!" Leala wailed, as she landed on her stomach, the wind knocked out of her. On top of her, Petalmon concurred the sentiment. 

And on top of Petalmon, a boy with wild brown hair groaned, and tumbled off the two. "Note to self," he mumbled, shaking his dizzy head. "Practice landing." 

"Ow... " Leala moaned again, pushing herself up to a kneeling position. Raking her curls out of her face with a swipe of a hand, she turned to her 'assailant.' "Hiro-san?" 

The boy wiped one white gloved hand over his face, as if he were waking up from a dream, his left one still clenched. When he focused on her, he only looked slightly surprised. "Leala? Where's everyone else? Where's Tenshi and Kiyoshi-chan?" 

"I don't know," the girl admitted with a pout. "Me and Petalmon were looking for them when you landed on us!" 

"Petalmon?" The boy blinked, brown eyes gazing at the cheerful flower digimon. 

"Hello, Hiro!" Petalmon waved, enthusiastically. 

"A-a digimon?" Hiro instinctively shuffled back a bit. "You have a digimon following you?" 

"She's not just any old digimon. She's my partner!" Leala crowed, proudly. 

"P-partner?" Hiro parroted, trying to get the information to sink into his brain, however slowly. Then, a chilling thought crossed his mind. "Some nut job actually armed _you_ with a potentially lethal weapon?!" 

Leala huffed, clenching her fists threateningly, but it was Petalmon who innocently replied. "What's a wehpun?" the small digimon asked, clueless. 

"It's not important," Leala said, frowning, putting her arms protectively around her partner. "Don't listen to him." 

"Okay... " Petalmon reluctantly agreed, still confused. 

Hiro stared at the girl and her digimon for a few more moments of incredulous silence, before shaking his head resignedly. "Fine. Whatever. I'm guessing since it's your fault everyone got sucked into this mess, that I shouldn't be surprised that you don't know where they are. Why me?" he groaned. 

"Hey!" Leala glared. "It's not my fault! The computer gave _all_ of us digivices. And it was Kiyoshi-chan's that glowed," she added, defensively. 

"Digivices... " Hiro's voice trailed, finally unclenching his left hand, to reveal a gray and white device of his own. "Wouldja look at that," he blinked, staring at the shining screen of it. 

"Cool! You got one too!" Leala declared, shuffling next to him to get a look at his digivice. She tried to reach over to tap it, and pouted when Hiro pulled it away. 

"Stop that," he scolded. He looked back at his digivice. "Well, I guess we should start looking for the others, and then try to sort things out from there." 

"We were already looking before you landed on us," Leala informed him, jumping to her feet. Petalmon immediately wrapped her arms around her partner's waist. Leala spun around, and started marching in a random direction... A completely different direction than what she was taking when Hiro had landed on her. "Let's go, Hiro-san!" 

Hiro sweatdropped at the sporadic girl. "Um, Leala?" 

She halted, and gave him a sidelong glance. "Yeah?" 

"You do realize we can track everyone with these, right?" he pointed to his duo toned device. 

She blinked owlishly. "Really?" 

"Yeah," he rolled his eyes. "That's how my dad found my mom in a castle." 

"A castle?" Leala repeated, this time turning fully, causing Petalmon to cling to the girls' waist so she wouldn't fall off. Leala's eyes were large, filled with excitement. "You think they might be at a castle?" 

Hiro stared at her, flat eyed. "I didn't say that." 

"That'd be so cool!" Leala said, awed at the thought. 

Hiro sighed. "You are so weird." He gave his digivice a hard glance. "Now, I think if we go north, that should lead us to these group of lights. I bet that's where everyone else is." 

She stared at him as he began to walk away, his eyes focused on his digivice. When he didn't turn back to her, Leala began to jog to catch up. 

"Hold on, Hiro-san!" she squealed, reaching his side. "Don't leave me behind. You're being mean!" 

"Oh, c'mon... " he moaned, exasperated. "I am not. I just want to find my cousins. Don't you want to find Tenshi?" 

"Course, I do," Leala frowned. "But you are being mean. You'd never be this mean to Doroko!" 

"Doroko-chan?" Hiro muttered, feeling his face grow warm. "I d-don't know what you're rambling about." 

"_'Chan?'_" Leala's grin turned absolutely cattish. "'Doroko-_chan_?' Do you call her that? Really?" she asked, so bouncily, Hiro could almost see the cat ears pointing out of her hair. 

"So what if I do?" he shrugged. 

"Hiro-san has a crush on my cousin!" Leala declared, loudly. 

The boy looked like he was about to have a heart attack. "Shut up!" 

"You have a crush on Doroko!" Leala giggled. "Doroko! Hiro and Doroko Yagami... " Leala sighed, feigning a dreamy look. "How romantic!" 

"I... Hate... You... " Hiro uttered, deadpan. 

"What's a crush?" Petalmon asked. 

*******

"It looks like Leala-san and whomever the other light is decided to make our job easier," Kiseki said, golden eyes focused on her black D-Cell. "They met up with each other." 

Tenshi sighed, relieved. "That does make things easier, doesn't it? Right, Kiyoshi? Kiyoshi-chan?" When the little girl didn't reply with a tug on his sleeve, he looked down at her. The young girl with the golden red hair was still looking behind them, worriedly. "Don't think about it, Kiyoshi-chan. Yukio will be fine. We'll meet up with him after we get Leala-chan, okay?" 

Kiyoshi hesitantly nodded, blue eyes still filled with concern over her crush. 

The trio walked through the forest in silence for a while, Bellmon's tailbell the only sound gracing their ears. Tenshi looked around at the multicolored foliage, wondering over the wayside TVs and radios. What a strange place the Digital World was. Maybe he could write a story about this. Different than his father's, of course. Maybe write a fictional tale, instead of just accounts of real life happenings. 

One seemingly broken television crackling to life threw Tenshi out of his stream of thought. The three children stopped in their tracks to stare at the box, and Bellmon leapt in front of them, protectively. The TV screen flickered, jumpy with black and snow lines, until it finally glowed brightly, violently spitting something large, and cursing out. 

"Dammit! That hurt!" 

A lanky boy with light brown hair brushed his one long lock out of his face, blue eyes narrowing on his surroundings with anger and distrust. Beside him, a small green and white device shimmered in the mid afternoon sun. Kiseki stared, too shocked to make the first move. It was Tenshi, shy as he was, to greet the newcomer. 

"Uh, hi there," the blonde boy ventured, walking over and offering a friendly hand. 

"Back off!" the other boy snarled. Tenshi quickly followed the command when the other boy glared at him, practically baring fangs. "Was it you who did this? Were you the bastard who did... Whatever the hell you did!?" 

Tenshi shook his head, confused. "I don't know wha-" 

"You friggin' punk!" The boy shot up, grabbing Tenshi by his shirt collar with one hand, and clenching his other hand in a tight fist. "Fix it, you son of a-!" 

"Seiko-san!" For the second time in the same day, Kiseki's gentle hands took hold of Seiko's arms, in order to stop a violent outburst. He stared at her with a surprised expression, but she didn't let go. "Calm down," she pleaded calmly, softly. "It's me, Kiseki. You're all right." 

"Kiseki-san?" Seiko murmured, releasing Tenshi without a second thought. The taller boy took a few steps back, gasping for breath, as his younger cousin reassuringly patted his arm. "This is where you went to? Where is this?" Seiko added. 

"Welcome to the Digital World," Kiseki warmly greeted him. She bent down, picked up his D-Cell, and handed it to him when she straightened up. "Congratulations. You've Been Chosen." 

"Chosen for what?" he asked, apprehensively. 

"For whatever this world has in store," Kiseki answered, vaguely. Bellmon took that moment to jump into her partner's arms, and looked quite amused as Seiko looked at her in disbelief and bewilderment. "And, of course," Kiseki said, with a small smile, "chosen to have the best friend you could possibly want." 

"Of course," Bellmon purred her agreement. 

Seiko, for once, couldn't come up with a worthy expletive to truly sum up his feelings at the moment. 

*******

Slowly, Yukio dared to open one coal black eye, quickly closing it against the brightness of the sun. He muttered a few choice words as he sat up, annoyed that his sunglasses were no longer on his face. Sighing, he opened his eyes again, blinking a few times before they became accustomed to the light. 

"Oh, are you awake?" someone said beside him, the masculine voice in mid yawn. 

Yukio turned his head, eyes widening at the sight of the green digimon next to him. Its face was oddly shaped; wide at the top, and curving to a narrow snout, with slits for nostrils. Its eyes were small, yellow, and the whites were actually black. It stretched its small body, eight pincers digging into the ground a bit, then finally look back up at the short boy. 

"You faint easily," the creature stated, unimpressed, almost sounding disappointed. 

"I-I do not!" Yukio argued, deciding that this tiny thing was no threat. All it was a stupid, obnoxious little thing, looking for a fight. "You just surprised me, that's all." 

"You scream like a girl, too," noted the digimon, dully. He shook his green head, melodramatically. "I was hoping for a meatier partner." 

"M-meatier?" Yukio choked. 

"Yes," the creature nodded. "You know. Taller. Stronger. Buff." It looked at him, and though he couldn't see its mouth, Yukio swore it was frowning. "You're not what I pictured." 

The short boy gasped. He couldn't believe this digimon's nerve! He pulled out his purple and white D-Cell, his black eyes narrowing on it, before nearly shoving it into the digimon's face. "Listen, I don't know who you think you are, but you're not my partner! See those purple dots?" Yukio demanded. "That duller one is my partner, and he's still about a mile ahead of me. So there," he added, pulling his digivice back. 

The green digimon bristled. "My name is Nyokamon," he said, rather insulted. "And I don't care what that silly digivice says. I know I'm your partner. As depressing as that sounds," he muttered under his breath. 

Yukio clenched his fists. "Why, you little-!" 

A loud stomping sound is what stopped Yukio from his verbal tirade filled with multi-synonym insults. As it got closer, the ground began to shake, and both the boy and the digimon scrambled backwards a bit, trying to figure out what was happening. The trees to the right of them began to creek, then totally give way, falling to the forest floor like they were building blocks. The brush cracked loudly underneath the weight of whatever was coming toward them, and Yukio got the distinct impression that even if he tried to run, he wouldn't get very far from whatever _thing_ was about to face them. 

The creature that burst through the now damaged trees and shrubbery was huge --at least eight times Yukio's height-- with the body of the old Greek Minotaur myth, including a golden ring through its snout. Its left forearm was replaced with a metal canon, and it raised its head high with a mighty roar, shaking Yukio and Nyokamon even more than they already were. 

It finally looked down at the shocked redhead, and rumbled deeply, "_I_ am Minotarumon." Narrowing its red eyes, it pointed at Yukio. "_You_ are my partner." 

For an impossibly long minute, Yukio was silent, as his black eyes went from Minotarumon to Nyokamon. He looked at his digivice for final confirmation, then sweatdropped upon seeing the two purple lights still weren't near each other; they were at least a mile away. 

"I... I don't think you're my partner, either," Yukio dared to whisper, knowing better than to yell at the Perfect in front of him. 

"He's my partner!" Nyokamon declared, raising his head high. "Find your own!" 

"Are you joking, little bug?" Minotarumon asked, incredulously. "I was sent to him by the Overseer personally!" 

"Well, so was I!" Nyokamon retorted. 

"You were, were you?" Minotarumon looked not in the least worried. "Well, then, this must mean we must fight for the title of partner." 

"Fine with me," Nyokamon agreed. 

"Are you crazy?" Yukio asked the small Child digimon. "He could squash you with his foot!" 

"Sit back, and watch how it's done, shorty," Nyokamon snapped. 

Yukio sputtered a bit, then crossed his arms. "Oh, fine! Get deleted. See if I care, you inane insect!" 

The bug digimon ignored the boy, getting low on its pincers, and facing the large Perfect with no fear. Neither digimon, nor the boy had any idea of the true meaning of the situation. None of them realized that the outcome of the battle did not rely upon which digimon was strongest, but how strong the Chosen boy was. 

**Next Chapter: Half the Battle Is...**


End file.
